PRIMARY nm SECONDARY 
PVBLIC EDUCATION 



IN MICHIGAN 




Class__iA.JO:| 

Book :p.^^ 

CopightN" . 



COE^'RIGHT DEPOSIT 



The Development 

of 

Primary and Secondary- 
Public Education 



in 



Michigan^ 



A Historical Sketch 
by 

Daniel Putnam^ 

Professor in the Normal College^ Ypsilantu 



GEORGE \A/AH R 

PUBLISHER AND BOOKSELLER 
ANN ARBOR, MICH, 



'V 



jUDRARYof CONGRESS 
} Two Copies Keceived 



OEC 12 iy04 

CUSS CC XXc. Nus 

/ O 3 S/ 5 

COPY B. 



J 



COPYRIGHT 1904 

BY 

GEORGE WAHR. 



THE CAMPUS PRESS 

ANN ARBOR, MICH, 



PREFACE. 

Excellent histories of the University and of higher edu- 
cation in Michigan have been published, but no connected 
history of the development of primary and secondary edu- 
cation in the State has appeared.- Such history is found only 
in multifarious reports and other documents of a more or 
less permanent character. The lack of any history of this 
kind has been a matter of regret and inconvenience, and 
occasionally of reproach to the commonwealth. In a cor- 
respendence with the lamented Dr. B. A. Hinsdale, a short 
time previous to his death, he expressed his sense of the 
want of such a work, and urged some reasons why the pres- 
ent writer should undertake to supply it. Until that time 
I had formed no definite purpose of preparing this volume. 
Some circumstances, however, favored the undertaking. 

In the performance of my official duties, it had been neces- 
sary for me to acquaint myself with the school laws and 
educational institutions of the State ; and in the preparation 
of histories of the normal school, of the institute work, of 
the educational funds, and of the State Teachers' Associa- 
tion, I had collected a considerable amount of material for 
such a history, and had discovered where still more material 
could be found. I have arranged this material in such 
form as, on the whole, seemed best adapted to the end in 
view. The plan adopted has necessitated occasionally a 
little repetition, and sometimes the separation of closely re- 
lated matters. But it is believed that these disadvantages 
are not serious, and are more than compensated by offsetting 
advantages. 

iii 



iv PREFACE 

It will be observed tbat I have quoted literally and freely 
from reports and other documents. This has been done 
of set purpose. I have preferred to allow men, as far as 
possil.'lc, to state their own position and express their own 
opinions in their own words. This enables the reader to 
form a judgment of his own relative to men and meas- 
ures, instead of compellirig him to accept or reject the 
ready-made judgment of the writer. 

It has been my good fortune to have some personal knowl- 
edge of all the Michigan Superintendents of Public In- 
struction, wath the single exception of Mr. Sawyer. Super- 
intendent Pierce was a neighbor for several years. I was 
intimately associated with Superintendents Gregory and 
Hosford during fourteen eventful years in the educational 
history of the State. Through personal intercourse it is 
possible to gather impressions and information which have 
never been committed to writing, and to get a more correct 
understanding of men and measures than can be obtained 
from printed documents. It will be generally admitted that 
one should profit by such opportunities. 

No one can be more sensible of the inadequacy of this 
presentation of the progressive development of the primary 
and secondary public school system of Michigan than the 
writer, but he hopes, nevertheless, that it may have some- 
thing of interest and value to the teachers and to the people 
of the State generally. The preparation of this little volume 
practically closes a term of service in the educational work 
of my adopted State extending over a period of a half cen- 
tury. I commit it to the charitable judgment of those who 
may read it, and myself to the kindly remembrance of the 
many whom I have had the pleasure of knowing in the var- 
ious relations wdiich teachers and pupils sustain to one 
another. 

Normal College, Ypsilanti, 1904. 



CONTENTS. 

EDUCATION IN THE TKRRlTORIAIv PERIOD. 
Chapter J. 

Topics : 

Three nations have ruled in Michigan. 

Centralization under the French. 

Education during the French period. 

Parochical and private schools. 

Form of the Territorial government. 

First primary school law in the Territory. 

Catholipistemiad or University of Michigania, 1817. 

Conduct of the Affairs of the University. 

No local management of schools. 

Territorial government changed. 

Recommendations of Governor Cass. 

Law of 1827 for public schools. 

Change of this law recommended by Governor Cass. 

Character of the new law. 

Provisions for the support of primary schools. 

Provisions as to teachers. 

Sumrhary of conditions. 

Description of the schools by Justice Cooley. 

CONSTITUTIONAI. PROVISIONS AS TO EDUCATION. 
Chapter 2. 

Isaac E. Crary and John D. Pierce. 
Origin of the Michigan School system. 
Convention and Constitution of 1835. 
Convention and Constitution of 1850. 
Question of Free Schools. 
Other languages than English. 
Election of Regents of the University. 
Article upon Education. 
Finance and Taxation. 



vi CONTKNTS 

THK STATIC SCIIOOI, SYSTEM, 
Chalkier 3. 

John D. Pierce appointed Superintendent. 

Mr. Pierce's first and second reports. 

The importance of education. 

Free Schools and required attendance. 

Scliools of high character needed. 

Pt)sition of Mr. Pierce in respect to private schools. 

Discussions in the second report. 

Duty and authority of the vState. 

Need of cjualified teachers. 

Charters for denominational colleges. 

Views of distinguished educators. 

Position of the Legislature ; public sentiment. 

Further discussion in relation to teachers. 

Opinion as to teachers' wages. 

ORC.ANIZ.XTION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

Chapter 7. 

Three legislative acts formed the system. 

The primary school act. 

Powers of the district. 

District officers. 

Township school officers. 

Duties of certain county officers. 

District libraries. 

Organization of the University ; Branches. 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Summary of the original school system. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMON DISTRICT SCHOOLS. 

Chap to' 5. 

The school districts. 
Local machinery not much changed. 
Direction of evolution ; studies, books. 
Discussions as to courses of studies. 
Work under the county superintendency. 
Courses of studies provided. 



CONTENTS ^ 

Latest courses by Superintendent Fall. 
Relation of district schools to other parts of the system. 
Examinations on completion of eight grades. 
Agricultural college course. 



DEVELOPMENT OF UNION AND GRADED SCHOOI.S. 

Chapter 6. 

First efforts for uniting districts. 

Condition of large towns in 1840. 

Provisions of school code of 1846. 

Amendments in 1849; large villages. 

Arguments of Superintendent. Mayhew. 

Reports in 1857; dates of organization of schools. 

Resolution of State Teachers' Association. 

Circular of Mr. Mayhew in 1857. 

Circular of Superintendent Gregory in 1859; replies. 

Arguments of Mr. Gregory in 1861. 

Modifications and improvements of the law. 

Growth of graded schools. 

The township school district ; growth. 



SECONDARY EDUCATION. THE HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Chapter 7. 

Secondary education in the Territorial period. 

Branches of the University established ; discontinued. 

Ridicule cast upon Mr. Pierce's plan. 

Estimation put upon the system by many men. 

Secondary instruction furnished by academies, etc. 

Recommendations by State Superintendents. 

High school departments of graded schools. 

Doubts as to legality of appropriations for their support. 

"The Kalamazoo case ;" decision by Justice Cooley. 

Growth of high schools since the decision. 

Affiliation with the University. 

Affiliation with other institutions. 

The dream of "Father Pierce" a reality. 



Chapter 



CONTENTS 
DEVELOPMENT OF COURSES OF STUDIES. 

Discussion of courses by Superintendent Gregory. 

Studies for rural district schools. 

Action of City Superintendents in 1868. 

Course for twelve years arranged. 

Difficulties in the way; different grades of schools. 

Work of the State Teachers' Association. 

No uniform course agreed upon. 

School boards may establish Kindergartens. 



PROVISIONS FOR TPIE SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS. 

Chapter 9. 

Funds to pay wages of teachers. 
Primary schools fund ; how apportioned.' 
Origin of this fund ; "swamp lands." 
Growth of this fund. 
Use of "specific taxes." 

Increase of apportionment of school funds. 
Township taxes for school purposes. 
Increase of the "mill tax." 
District, village, and city taxes. 
Amounts paid for teachers' wages. 
Provision for district taxation. 
Increase in the resources of districts. 

FREE SCHOOLS AND REQUIRED ATTENDANCE. 

Chapter 10. 

Views of Superintendent Pierce. 

State of public sentiment. 

Conditions in Detroit previous to 1841. 

Discussion in State Teachers' Association in 1858. 

Action of the Association ten years later. 

Schools made free July 3, 1869. 

Free schools in some other states. 

Compulsory attendance ; law of 1871. 

New law of 1883; amended 1885. 

Other kindred laws ; summary of existing laws. 



CONTENTS ix 

PREPARATION 01^ TEACHERS. 

Chapter ii. 

Views of Superintendent Pierce. 

Normal department in the Branches. 

Views of Governor Mason. 

Views of Superintendents Sawyer and Comstock. 

Superintendent Mayhew's efforts. 

Teachers' Institutes. 

Legislative act establishing Institutes. 

Enactment of 1877. 

Number of Institutes. 

Normal schools recommended. 

Act for establishing school at Ypsilanti. 

Dedication of the first Building. 

First teachers in the school. 

Number of graduates to the year 1899. 

Efforts for additional normal schools. 

Central Normal School at Mt. Pleasant. 

Northern Normal School at Marquette. 

System of Normal Schools. 

Science and art of teaching in the University. 

Teachers' Courses in the Colleges. 

Summary of facilities for the preparation of teachers. 

CERTIFICATES OF TEACHERS AND SUPERVISION OE SCHOOLS. 

Chapter 12. 

Township school inspectors. 

County Superintendents. 

Grades of Certificates. 

Visiting the schools. 

Township Superintendents. 

County Examiners and Township Superintendents. 

Provision for County Supervision. 

County Commissioners of Schools. 

Qualifications of County Commissioners. 

Grades of Certificates. 

State Board of Education grants certificates. 

Normal School diplomas and certificates. 

Certificates for College graduates. 



X CONTENTS 

Certificates from the University. 

Certificates in some cities. 

Teachers of Kindergarten, of Music, and Drawing. 

ABOUT TI5XT-B00KS. 
Chapter 13. 

Condition as to text-books at first. 

First act relating to text-books. 

Proposed plan to supply text-books. 

State Superintendent to recommend a list of books. 

Recommendation of Superintendent Mayhew. 

District boards directed to prescribe text-books. 

List of books in the schools. 

Statement of Superintendent Hosford. 

Discussion by Superintendent Tarbell. 

Free text-books as the best solution. 

Report of Superintendent Gass. 

Law of 1883 as to physiology, hygiene, etc. 

Free text-books at Saginaw, 1885. 

General law for free text-books, 1889. 

What books may be furnished free. 

Statute of 1897 ; repealed in following year. 

General result of the free text-book law. 

Present conditions as to text-books. 

THE LIBRARY SYSTEM. 

Chapter 14. 

Constitutional provisions. 
Recommendations of Superintendent Pierce. 
Slow progress of libraries. 
Township or district libraries. 
Recommendations of Superintendent Gregory. 
State Board of Education to recommend books. 
Superintendent Hosford's statements. 
Superintendent Gower's statements. 
Statistics in the report of 1890. 
Present provisions of law. 
Teachings of experience. 



CONTENTS xi 

EQUALITY OF KDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES. 
Chapter 15. ' 

No extended history of the struggle for equality. 

Co-education not necessarily identical education. 

Conditions in the early history of the country. 

Education of girls in the early public schools. 

Mrs. Allen's account of her education. 

Instruction of girls in private schools. 

Education of girls in Michigan during the Territorial 

period. 
Girls in the branches of the University. 
Girls in the early graded schools. 
Opinions respecting co-education. 

Demand that the State furnish equal facilities for women. 
Opinions of Superintendents Shearman and Mayhew. 
Discussions in State Teachers' Association. 
Report of committee of Board of Regents in 1859. 
View of President Haven. 
University opened to women in 1870. 

AS TO MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 

Chapter 16. 

The religious instinct fundamental in the soul. 

Religious sentiment taken into account. 

Views of Superintendent Pierce. 

Action of Board of Regents in relation to teachers. 

Views of Rev. Dr. Duffield. 

Religious instruction in the early public schools of the 

country. 
Earliest controversies as to religious instruction. 
Conditions in Massachusetts and New York in 1837. 
Criticisms upon Horace Mann. 
The controversy in New York. 
Constitutional provisions in Michigan. 
Criticisms upon the University. 
Report of the President and faculties. 
Changed conditions and changed methods. 
The religious question in the primary schools. 



xii CONTENTS 

Superintendent Sawyer's investigations. 
Replies to Mr. Sawyer's inquiries. 
Views of Superintendent Comstock. 
Conflict in the City of Detroit ; final result. 
Efforts for division of proceeds of school funds . 
Extracts from a report to the Legislature. 
Discussions in State Teachers' Association. 
Resolution adopted in 1859. 
Address by Prof. Joseph Estabrook in 1869. 
Convictions as to proper ethical instruction. 

state; supii:RiNT£:NDKNT AND state: board of education. 

Chapter 17. 

Constitutional provisions as to Superintendent. 

Views of Superintendent Shearman. 

First duties of the Superintendent. 

Duties prescribed by statute in 1850. 

Creation of the Board of Education in 1849. 

Made a constitutional board in 1850. 

Office and Salary of the Superintendent. 

Views of Superintendent Shearman in 1854. 

Views of Superintendent Mayhew, 1855-56. 

Deputy Superintendent authorized in 1859. 

Board of Education and the Agricultural College. 

Duty of the Board to recommend Library Books. 

State Superintendent and Teachers' Institutes. 

State Teachers' Certificates. 

Questions for Teachers' Examinations. 

Duties of Superintendent and Board greatly increased. 

SPEICIAI, INSTITUTIONS 01^ PRIMARY AND SI^CONDARY EDU- 
CATION. 
Chapter 18. 

The State Agricultural College. 
The School for the Deaf. 
The School for the Blind. 
The Industrial School for Boys. 
The Industrial Home for Girls, 



CONTENTS 

The State Public School. 

The Home for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic. 

SOME GENERAL STATISTICS AND REFERENCES. 
Chapter ig. 

School reports in early years imperfect. 
Table relating to Children. 
Table relating to "Teachers and Wages. 
Table showing financial conditions. 
References and authorities. 
Addenda— School funds. 

APPENDIX. 

School legislation of 1903. 
County Normal training classes. 
Controlled by a county board. 
Form of organization. 
Qualifications for admission. 
-Courses of study. 
~ Character of certificates. 
Supported by State, county, and district. 
Additional Normal School. 
Powers of Board of Education enlarged. 
Employment Institution for the Blind. 
Tuition and transportation of pupils. 
Change of time for examinations. 
Changes in law as to libraries. 

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 

Sketch of State Teachers' Association. 
Organization and early members. 
Brief notices of individuals. 
Journal of Education. 
Topics discussed and acted upon. 
The Bible in the Schools. 
Efforts for Teachers' Institutes. 
Equal educational opportunities, 



CONTENTS 

Improved Supervision of Schools. 

Township School districts. 

The "rate bill" Free Schools. 

Decline of the Association. 

Educational State officers. 

Beginnings of improvement in Association. 

Additional names of members. 

Fiftieth annual meeting at Saginaw. 

Some things accomplished by the Association. 

Presidents during first twenty-five years. 

Index. 



CHAPTER I. 

EDUCATION IN THE TERRITORIAL PERIOD. 

The flags of three nations have successively represented 
sovereignty and civilization in Michigan. Each flag has 
symbolized certain principles and characteristics of political, 
civil, religious, and educational administration. French pop- 
ulation and French principles and modes of administration 
predominated for more than a century after the founding 
of Detroit by Cadillac in 1701. The transfer of the terri- 
tory to English rule made no essential change in the man- 
agement of local affairs, and the subsequent transfer to 
the United States produced no immediate revolution in 
previously established methods of local governm.ent. 

Under the French regime centralization was the funda- 
mental principle in all affairs. The military commandant 
was supreme in the State, and the priest or bishop in the 
church. Education was a function of the church. The 
initiative in everything was in the officials, not in the 
people. There were no semi-independent local organiza- 
tions, like the New England towns to provide for the man- 
agement and support of schools. This, fact must be kept 
in mind in order to understand and judge fairly the educa- 
tional measures of the early Territorial government. The 
educational methods of the older States could not success- 



2 EARLY ATTENTION TO EDUCATION. 

fully adopted until the ininiigration of American population 
should give predominance to American ideas and to Amer- 
ican modes of local org"anization. At first few townships 
and no school districts existed. 

There is evidence, however, that some attention was given 
to education even in the earliest period of the French settle- 
ment. Two years after the founding of Detroit, Cadillac, 
the commandant, in a communication to Count Pontchar- 
train, wrote: "Permit me to insist upon the great necessity 
there is for the esta1:)lishment of a Seminary at this place 
for the instruction of children of the savages with those of 
the French, instrui:ting them in piety and, at the same time, 
teaching them our language."'*' 

It is doubtful if this recommendation produced any imme- 
diate results, as Silas Farmer states that no indication of 
schools or teachers can be found until 1755, a half century 
later. At the close of another half century in 1804, a 
Ladies' Academy and a School for young men were opened 
by "Father Richard.'' These, of course, were church 
schools. 

In 1808 Father Richard presented to the officers of the 
Territorial government a full report of the cliaracter and 
condition of the Catholic Schools in Detroit and vicinity. 
Besides the English schools in Detroit, there were four 
primary schools for boys and two for young ladies. Some 
of these were taught by natives of the country. In one of 
the schools were several young Indians of the Pottowat- 
amie tribe. In an Academy for young ladies more than 
thirty young girls were taught knitting, sewing, spinning 
and other occupations in addition to the ordinary common 



*Farmer's History of Detroit, p. 720. 



PRIVATE SCHOOLS 3 

school studies. There were in two schools three dozen 
spinning wheels and a loom ; and a spinning machine of 
about a hundred spindles had been ordered from New York. 
Father Richard had in view plans for an Academy or high 
school for boys and the beginnings of a public library. He 
seems to have been a practical advocate of industrial educa- 
tion and to have been a progressive educator in other direc- 
tions. 

Private schools of varying degrees of excellence are 
reported to have existed from 1775. Most of these w^ere 
short-lived and of inferior character. It does not fall with- 
in our purpose to trace their history or to estimate their 
value in the community. They are mentioned, in connec- 
tion with the parochial schools, to show that, while no 
public provision had yet been made for education, the better 
informed of the people were alive to its importance, and 
were becoming ready to co-operate wdth the authorities 
whenever some feasible plan should be presented. Condi- 
tions were such that the initiative could come only from 
the Territorial government. 

The form of this government was peculiar. It was 
highly centralized, and had few features which would today 
be regarded as democratic. Legislative, executive, and 
judicial authority was entirely vested in a Governor and 
three Judges appointed by the President with the consent 
and approval of the Senate. A Secretary w^as added who 
became acting Governor in the absence of that officer. All 
local offices were created by the governor and all local offi- 
cers were appointed by him. The people generally "had 
no feeling of responsibility in respect to public and govern- 
mental concerns, and submitted cheerfully and without ques- 



4 FIRST SCHOOL LAW. 

tion to the authorities placed over them." 

The character and habits of the people, and the condition 
of local affairs in the Territory, naturally determined the 
form of school legislation and the provisions for the organi- 
zation, management, and support of schools. The peculiar 
features of the enactments of 1817 and 1821 become par- 
tially intelligible at least in view of these facts. 

The first law relating to schools was promulgated in 
February, 1809: this act seems not to have been printed 
and no copy of it is known to be in existence. In the intro- 
ductory explanation to the "Territorial Laws" it is spoken 
of as ''missing." Justice Cooley in his History of Michigan, 
gives a synopsis of the law, but I am unable to ascertain 
the source from which he received his information. He 
states that ''the act provided for the laying off into school 
districts of all the settled portions of the territory, and for 
an enumeration of the children between the ages of four 
and eighteen in each of the districts. From these districts 
annual reports were required of the moneys expended in 
the support of schools and the construction of school build- 
ings, and the territorial government was to levy an annual 
tax of not less than two nor more than four dollars for 
each child reported within the ages mentioned. The sum 
collected was to be apportioned among the districts ; not, 
however, in proportion to the number of children in them 
respectively, but in proportion to the sums expended in 
the year preceding for school purposes." 

It will be observed that funds for school purposes were 
to be raised by a general tax upon the property of the terri- 
tory and not by local taxation. There is, however, an 
implication that money might be raised in the districts, but 



STATUTE OF 1817 5 

probably by voluntary contributions. No mention is made 
of local officers or of tbe qualifications or employment of 
of teachers. Planner's History of Detroit states that the 
overseers of the poor were to form school districts out of 
their own districts and act as trustees of the same, and that 
Judges of District Courts were to appropriate the moneys. 
The people of the various localities had no voice in the 
organization and nianagement of schools. There is no evi- 
dence that any school districts were formed or any schools 
organized under that act. In all probability the law was a 
dead letter from the first. No further legislation appears 
to have taken place until 1817. Meanwhile private and 
church schools furnished whatever education the people had. 
Rev. John ]\Iontieth, a Presbyterian clergyman, a grad- 
uate of Princeton college, came to Detroit in 1816 and gath- 
ered a congregation of Protestants to whom he ministered 
for several years. In connection with the catholic priest 
"Father Richard," he succeeded in stirring up the Territor- 
ial government to make some provision for public education. 
Governor Lewis Cass, a native of New Hampshire, seven 
years a student in the Academy at Exeter, then under the 
Principalship of the famous Benjamin Abbott, was more 
than ready to second any feasible efiforts for the instruction 
of the children of the common people. In August, 181 7, 
an act was passed by the Territorial government incorporat- 
ing an institution called the "Catholipistemead, or Univer- 
sity of Michigania." The pedantic and absurd nomencla- 
ture of this act is accounted for by the fact that it was 
drawn up by the eccentric Judge Woodward and enacted 
during the temporary absence of the Governor. We are 
here concerned with this law only so far as it affected sec- 



6 POWERS OF THE FACULTY 

ondary and primary education. It provides not merely for 
the establishment of a single institution, of high rank, but 
also a unique and complete school system for the whole 
Territory. The President and Professors of the institution 
were to be appointed by the Governor and their salaries 
were to be paid from the treasury of the territory. Thirteen 
professorships were provided for, but the same individual 
might be appointed to several chairs. Mr. Montieth was 
appointed President and was given seven professorships : 
Father Richard was made Vice President and held the other 
six professorships. Consequently the faculty consisted of 
two men, a Presbyterian and a Roman Catholic. There is 
no report of discord or conflict in the faculty. In addition 
to managing the affairs of the University proper, the fac- 
ulty, that is, these two individuals, were empowered ''to 
establish colleges, academies, schools, libraries, museums, 
botanic gardens, laboratories, and other useful literary and 
scientific institutions consonant to the laws of the United 
vStates of America and of Michigan," and to appoint teachers 
and other school officers in all the counties, towns, and cities 
of the territory. All teachers of every grade were to be 
paid from the public treasury. Fifteen per cent of the public 
taxes was set apart for the support of schools. It will be 
observed that the whole educational system of the Territory 
and all schools from the University to the lowest primary, 
were made subject to the immediate and absolute control 
of a small central board, and this board was appointed by 
the Governor, and the Governor was appointed by the Pres- 
ident. The people had "no part or lot in the matter" except 
to pay the taxes. And yet this system was not out of har- 
monv with the then existing condition of affairs; the con- 



A COMPLETE SCHOOL SYSTEM 7 

dition soon changed and naturally the system changed 
with it. 

It has been the fashion of most writers to see in this act 
of 1817 only fit material for ridicule and sarcasm. That 
its verbiage affords good excuse for such treatment cannot 
be denied ; but it contained the essential principles which 
are embodied in the present school system of this State, and 
which have been incorporated into the systems of many of 
the newer vStates. It made education the business of the 
State : it provided for the organization, management, and 
support of schools of all grades by the State ; it aimed to 
secure an organic connection between the various parts of 
the school system. Justice Cooley says "The plan was crude 
and pedantic, but its author had grasped certain principles 
which were of the very highest importance, and which from 
this time became incorporated in the polity of the Territory, 
and subsequently of the State also. In every State, as he 
believed, the education of the people is important to the 
State itself, and should be assumed as a State duty. It 
should not be restricted to elementary education merely, 
but the State ought to place within the reach of its youth 
such higher education also as is commonly given by the 
colleges of the land. And this education should be non- 
sectarian."'''- 

The affairs of the LIniversity were conducted with a stiff 
formality appropriate to a great institution, but Mr. Mon- 
tieth and Father Richard appear to have understood that 
the immediate need of the Territory was some provision for 
elementary education. They accordingly at once opened 
some primary schools in Detroit, Monroe, and Mackinaw, 



'Cooky's Michigan, p. 310. 



8 g^ STATUTE OF 1821 

in which the usual branches were taught, and provided for 
secondary instruction by estabhshing an academy in Detroit 
in which English, French, Latin and ''Greek antiquities" 
were to be taught. It was directed that the "Sacred Scrip- 
tures shall constitute part of the reading from the beginning 
to the end of the course." A university building, twenty- 
four by fifty feet, two stories in height, was soon erected 
with funds derived mostly from private subscriptions. A 
school conducted on the Lancasterian plan, w^as opened in 
the building in 18 18, which increased during the year from 
eleven scholars to one hundred and eighty-three. A tuition 
fee was charged varying from one dollar to three dollars and 
a half per quarter, but in many cases parents failed to pay 
the required fee. 

In 1 821 the act of 18 17 was superseded by a statute, 
written in the ordinary English language, providing for 
the establishment of a University to be under the control 
of a board of twenty-one trustees of wdiich the Governor 
was a member ex-officio. The idea of a central institution 
of high rank and of subordinate schools of various grades 
imder the same management was retained ; but the authority 
to establish and manage such schools was vested in the board 
of trustees and not in the faculty of the University. The 
trustees were empowered to organize such colleges, aca- 
demies, and schools as they deemed proper and to apply 
funds for the "promotion of literature and the advancement 
of useful knowledge within the territory." All public edu- 
cation in the territory remained under the control of a 
single central board. The work and methods of the new 
corporation were essentially the same as those of the pre- 
vious body ; but an important change was made in respect 



PATERNAL GOVERNMENT 9 

to funds for the support of educational work. The provis- 
ion for a g-eneral tax upon the property of the Territory was 
repealed and the trustees were left to depend upon the 
income from lands specially devoted to educational purposes 
and upon voluntary contributions from private individuals. 

No change was made in the educational policy or educa- 
tional machinery of the territory until 1827. The people 
had little or nothing to do with public school affairs, or 
indeed with any of the affairs of the government, until 1823. 
The ordinance of 1787, which was in effect the constitution 
of the territory of Michigan, provided that when there were 
five thousand free male inhabitants in the territory they 
might elect a legislative assembly. In 1818 the population 
had increased to that number, and the question was sub- 
submitted to a popular vote, whether provision should be 
made for the election of such an assembly, and it was voted 
down by a large majority. 

The French element and French ideas were still pre- 
dominant. The time for public schools under local man- 
agement had not yet come. ''It is difficult for us who have 
been educated under a system of self-g"overnment to com- 
prehend the feelings of those who have been brought up 
under a paternal government. The brief period of repre- 
sentation in the Assembly of the Northwest Territory had 
not habituated the French settlers to our notions. And the 
absence of any local system in township and county admin- 
istration left them entirely ignorant of its advantages. 
Those who reached middle age before the people in the 
territory became entitled to vote for their own officers, 
were not always pleased with the change, and some of them 
who survived to a very recent period, never ceased to sigh 



10 VIEWS OF GOVERNOR CASS 

for the good old days, when the commanding- officer was 
the whole government."'^ 

In 1823 Congress modified the character of the Terri- 
torial government, transferring the legislative authority 
to the Governor and a Council of nine members parLiaiiy 
elected by the people, and in 1827 increased the number 
to thirteen fully elected by the people. Provision was also 
made for the division of the Territory into townships and 
for the election of township officers. The way was now 
open for the establishment of public primary schools tmder 
the control of local authorities. 

Much credit is due to Governer Cass for his earnest and 
continued efi^orts to induce the Council to make immediate 
and adequate provision for the organization and support 
of schools. In his message to the first Council, in 1824, 
after referring to the funds from lands donated by Con- 
gress for educational purposes, he said : "whatever beyond 
these the state of the country may require must be fur- 
nished by the application of individual contribution, or by 
county or township assessments authorized by law. The 
importance of this subject to our present and future pros- 
perity must be too well appreciated to require .any obser- 
vations from me. A practical and well digested system, 
which should extend to all the advantages of education, 
would be of inestimable value to this young and growing- 
community. A more acceptable service could not be ren- 
dered to our fellow citizens. And no vaovq equable tax 
can be levied in any country than one whose application is 
directed to preparing, its citizens for appreciating and pre- 
serving the l)lessing-s of self-government." The Gover- 



♦Campbell's History of Michigan, pp. 391-2. 



VIEWS OF GOVERNOR CASS II 

nor's appeal, however, produced no action from the Coun- 
cil at that session. Public sentiment did not yet make any 
imperative demand. 

At the next session he returned to the subject of educa- 
tion, and even more earnestly urged the Council to take 
some action. After referring to the additional township 
of land donated by Congress, and to the authority given 
to locate the land in small tracts, the Governor said : "When 
the country becomes improved, a revenue will probably be 
derived from these reservations, amounting to almost one 
thirtieth part of the Territory, adequate to the great pur- 
pose of public instruction. But until then we shall in 
vain look for any vigorous or systematic effort upon this 
subject, without the powerful intervention of the legisla- 
ture. ^ ^ ^ The wealthy will provide for their own 
children, but those who are less fortunate in life must look 
to their country for assistance. * * * It appears to me 
that a plan must be devised, which will not press too heavily 
upon the means of the country, and vvhich will insure a 
complete portion of education to all the youth of the Ter- 
ritory ; and I recommend the subject to your serious con- 
sideration.". The importunity and zeal of the Governor, 
reenforced doubtless by a growing public sentiment among 
mo: the new settlers in the Territory, at length induced the 
Council to act. A law was enacted in 1827 providing for 
the establishment of common schools throughout the Ter- 
ritory, and making such schools independent of the con- 
trol of the trustees of the University. The period of cen- 
tralization had passed; local democracy was to have its 
opportunity. The people had made some progress in the 
management of local township affairs througli officers of 
their own choice. 



12 STATUTE OF 1827 

The statute of 1827 was essentially a reproduction of an 
early school law of the Massachusetts colony, with some 
features 1)orrowetl from New York, and was not well 
adapted to the condition of the Territory or to the habits 
of the people ; but it afforded an opportunity for a bei^in- 
ning of iniblic elementary education under the immediate 
control of the people. 

This act required every township containing fifty fam- 
ilies to support a school, in which "reading , writing, orthog- 
raphy, arithmetic, and decent behavior should be taught." 
The teaching might be either in the French or English lan- 
guage. The term of school was to be equivalent to six 
months ; an.d the wording of the statute implied that this 
term might l)e divided into two or more periods, and that 
the school might be kept, during the. different periods in 
different parts of the township. Townships containing a 
hundred families were required to support a school twelve 
months, with the same provision as to periocts and locations. 
Townships vvith a hundred and fifty families were required 
to su])]iort a primary school for six months, and a school 
of a little more advanced character for twelve months. 
This last school was required to have a teacher who could 
instruct in the English language. Townships containing 
two hundred families were required, in addition to schools 
previously mentioned to employ "a grammar school-master 
of good morals, well instructed in the Eatin, French, and 
English languages," for a period ecjuivalent to twelve 
months in the year. 

The grammar school of that day was equal to an acad- 
emy or high school of moderate grade, and offered the 
advantages of secondary education including preparation 



SCHOOL OFFICERS 13 

for the University. This statute combined with the act 
of 1 82 1, gave the Territory, on paper, a tolerably complete 
system of public instruction. 

It will be observed that this law dealt with townships 
and not with school districts. The system was a township 
svstem, with the proviso that the voters of the township 
might order a division of the township into districts, the 
local affairs of such districts being managed by a board of 
three trustees elected annually. The township school offi- 
cers consisted of a board of inspectors, not exceeding five 
in number, who examined teachers and exercised a general 
supervision over the schools. Public sentiment in relation 
to education in the Territory was indicated by the last 
section of the law, which read : "Nothing in this act con- 
tained shall be so construed as to make it obligatory on any 
townships of this Territory to employ teachers as provided 
bv this act ; Provided that the electors at the annual meet- 
ing, by a vote of two-thirds of all the electors present at 
such meeting, shall determine that they wili not comply 
with the provisions of this act for that year." It is appar- 
ent that this section was added from deference (i) to those 
who preferred church and private schools, and (2) to 
those who were opposed to general taxation for the supy 
port of schools. The legislation of the next year shows 
that serious obstacles were encountered in the efforts to 
enforce the somewhat complicated provisions of this law ; 
and that many townships had neglected to comply with its 
requirements without the safeguard of the two-thirds vote. 
On the whole the practical workings of the system provided 
for by the act of 1827 were unsatisfactory. 

To the Council in 1828 Governor Cass said : "I am ap- 



14 



NEW SCHOOL LAW 



prchensive that our present laws upon the suhject of edu- 
cation are entirely too complicated for practical operation. 
Many of the provisions are wise and just, but many others 
do not seem adapted to the circumstances of a new country. 
The efficiency of a system entering so much into the rela- 
tions of private life, must depend essentially upon its sim- 
plicity, and upon its adaptation to the situation and opinions 
of the people." 

He strongly urged a reexamination of the subject and 
the adoption of a better plan. He insisted that no wiser 
or juster tax could be levied than one devoted to education. 
The children of the poor, he declared, should be the pupils 
of the State, and should be educated at the expense of the 
state. 

Jn accordance with the recommendations of the Gover- 
ner, the Council passed a new act "to provide for and reg- 
ulate common schools." This law definitely established the 
"district system" of school organization ; made the district 
officers a clerk, treasurer, collector, and three directors 
who were the executive officers ; provided for a township 
board of "Commissioners of Common Schools," and also 
a board of "five discreet persons" to act as "Inspectors of 
•Common schools." The first board arranged the school 
districts, and distributed the ])roceeds derived from the 
rent of the school section. The basis of distribution being 
the number of scholars in each district. The second board 
examined teachers an.d supervised the schools. 

The law also provided for the appointment by the Gov- 
ernor of a "Superintendent of common schools for the 
Territory." This officer was to take charire of the school 
section in townships where the people neglected to make 



THE SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS 



15 



proper provision for the care and protection of this land, 
and to report annually to the Council the condition of 
school lands, the amount of money received from the rent 
of these, the number of scholars in the public schools ; and 
whatever else he deemed of importance. 

This school code was slightly amended by successive 
Councils, was pretty thoroughly revised in 1833, but the 
general features of the system remained unchanged till the 
close of the Territorial period. It will be of interest to 
examine a little more in detail some features of the Terri- 
torial school system. 

PROVISION FOR THE SUPPORT OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS 

The act of 1827 provided that the township should raise 
by a general tax, levied and collected in the same way as 
other taxes, money for the payment of the wages of 
teachers. The proceeds of this tax and the money derived 
from the rent of the school section (this section could not 
at that time be sold) were distributed to the districts in 
proportion to the number of children in each district be- 
tween the ages of five and fifteen years. Funds for build- 
ing school houses, keeping them in repair, providing fuel 
and other necessaries, were raised by a tax voted, levied, 
and collected by the district itself. At first the tax was 
levied only on the property of residents, but b}' an amend- 
ment two years later, the property of non-residents was 
included. 

In subsequent revisions, while no change was made as 
to funds for building school houses, a radical and unfor- 
tunate change was made in the provisions for obtaining 



1 6 , THE "RATE BILL" SYSTEM 

money for the payment of teachers. The township tax 
Avas ahandoned. The proceeds from the school lands were 
divided amonp;- the districts on the basis of the number of 
children actually taiig-ht in the schools. The remainder 
of the funds needed for teachers' wages were raised by the 
''rate bill" system. Those who sent children to school 
paid in proportion to the number of children sent and the 
davs of attendance. The children of those who were able 
to pay the rate bill and refused or neglected to do so were 
excluded from the school. The tuition of children whose 
parents were unable to meet the expense was provided for 
l3y a general tax upon the property of the district. It will 
be observed that public sentiment in the Territory, as indi- 
cated by the school laws, had undergone a progressive 
change. At first the central Territorial government defray- 
ed the expenses of education ; a little later the township pro- 
vided for the schooling of its children ; finally it was deter- 
mined that parents should pay for the instruction of their 
own children, if able to do so. The State, or the public, 
provided school houses and other necessary facilities but 
nothing more, except in case of the indigent. Extreme cen- 
tralization had given way to extreme individualism. 

PROVISIONS AS TO TEACHERS. 

Under the statute of 1817 the central Territorial board 
employed teachers and determined their qualifications with- 
out any restrictions or legal limitations. Under the later 
laws the township board of school Inspectors examined the 
teachers of the common schools, and gave certificates valid 
for one year. The nature of the examination can only 



SUMMARY OF CONDITIONS 17 

be inferred from existing conditions and from the branches 
of study which they were expected to teach. The Inspec- 
tors were required to certify to their competency and moral 
character. By one of the early statutes persons presuming 
to teach a public school without the Inspector"s certificate 
were liable to a fine of two hundred dollars, one-half of 
which went to the informer, the other half to the fund for 
the poor. This provision was eliminated in the next revis- 
ion of the school laws, and school officers were forbidden 
to employ teachers not having proper certificates. Teachers 
were to report under oath, if those concerned required this, 
a full statement of the attendance of scholars and names 
of parents. 



SUMMARY OF CONDITIONS. 

Educational conditions at the close of the Territorial per- 
iod were essentially the following: 

1. Provision for higher education by a University, exist- 
ing m the statute and in anticipation, with a prospective 
endowment from seventy-two sections of land donated by 
Congress and three sections given by certain Indian tribes. 

2. Provision for secondary education by means of 
schools to be established and supported by the trustees of 
the University. 

3. Provision for elementary schools, to be held at least 
three months in the year, controlled and supported by the 
various school districts, with the aid derived from the 
rents of the school section. 

4. Provision for a Territorial "Superintendent of Com- 
mon Schools," appointed by the Governor with the consent 



i8 JUSTICE COOLEY'S DESCRIPTION 

of the legislative Council, whose duties were similar to 
those of the first State Superintendent. 

The main features of the Territorial system were incor- 
porated, with some changes and improvements, into the 
State system by Superintendent Pierce. 

The actual state of elementary education and of educa- 
tional affairs, as late as 1836, is well pictured by Justice 
Thomas M. Cooley. ''The schools at the time State gov- 
ernment was established were still very primitive affairs. 
There were as yet no professional teachers. Some farmer 
or mechanic, or perhaps a grown-up son or daughter, who 
had had the advantages of the common schools of New 
York or New England, offered his or her services as teacher 
during the dull season of regular employment, and consent- 
ed to take as wages such sum as the district could afford to 
pay. A summer school taught by a woman, who would 
be paid six or eight dollars a month, and a winter school 
taught by a man, whose compensation was twice as great, 
was what was generally provided for. But in addition to 
wages the teacher received his board, "boarding round" 
among the patrons of the school, and remaining with each 
a number of days determined by the number of pupils sent 
to school. If we shall incline to visit one of these schools 
in the newer portion of the State we shall be likely to find 
it housed in a log structure, covered with bark, imperfectly 
plastered between the logs to exclude the cold, and still 
more imperfectly warmed by an open fire-place or by a box 
stove, for which fuel is provided, as the board for the teacher 
is, by proportional contributions. The seats for the pupils 
may be of slabs set on legs ; the desks may be other slabs 
laid upon supports fixed to the logs which constitute the 



THE PRIMITIVE SCHOOL 19 

sides of the room. The school books are miscellaneous, 
and consist largely of those brought by the parents when 
emigrating to the territory. Those who write must rule 
their paper with pencils of their own manufacture, and 
the master will make pens for them from the goose-quill. 
For the most part the ink is of home manufacture. There 
are no globes: no means of illustration; not even a black- 
board. * * * Such in many cases was the Michigan 
school. Better school buildings were now springing up, 
but as a rule nothing could seem more dreary or dispiriting 
than the average school district. Nevertheless, many an 
intellect received a quickening in those schools which fitted 
it for a life of useful and honorable activity. The new 
settlers made such provision for the education of their chil- 
dren as was possible under the circumstances in which they 
were placed, and the fruits of their labors and sacrifices in 
this direction were in many cases surprising."* 



*Cooley's Michigan, pp. 315-317. 



CHAPTER II. 
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS AS TO EDUCATION. 

Michigan owes a large debt of gratitude to Isaac E. 
Crary and Jgfin D. Pierce. More than any other two men, 
they were instrumental in laying the foundations of her 
educational system, and in giving direction to its early devel- 
opment. By native endowments and by academic culture 
they were admirably fitted for the work. Mr. Crary was 
a native of Connecticut, born in 1804. Pie graduated from 
Washington (now Trinity) college at Hartford in its first 
class, 1829, with the highest honors. He came to Michigan 
in 1832, was delegate to Congress from the Territory, and 
the first Representative of the vState in Congress. For sev- 
eral years he was a resident of Marshall in Calhoun county. 

John D. Pierce was a native of New Hampshire, born in 
1797. He graduated from Brown University, Rhode Island, 
with an excellent reputation as a scholar, in 1822. While 
in college he taught school three months in each year to 
secure means to defray his expenses. After leaving college 
he studied one year in the Princeton Theological Seminary, 
then became pastor of a church in Oneida county. New York, 
where he remained four years. Pie was Principal of an 
academy in Goshen, Connecticut, during the following year. 
In the spring of 1831 he was commissioned by the Congre- 
gational Home Mission Society to act as a missionary either 
in Illinois or Michigan as he might choose. In July of 
that year he located in Marshall, Michigan, and continued 

20 



INCEPTION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM 21 

his missionary labors until he was appointed Superintendent 
of Public Instruction in 1836. A year after he settled in 
Marshall, Mr. Crary became a resident of the same place. 
Circumstances brought them into close relationship, and 
into intimate acquaintance and friendship. Like most of 
the men in the Territory at that period they were both young 
and filled with enthusiasm and hopefulness of that time of 
life, and with the spirit of enterprise which characterized 
the new-comers in the Territory. It was the day of great 
expectations and of far-reaching plans. 

Late in his life, writing of that period, Mr. Pierce said, 
in substance, "when I came to Michigan, in 183 1, the census 
just taken, including what is now the State of Wisconsin, 
showed a population of 32,000 ; of this number 30,000 were 
in Michigan proper. The census was again taken in 1834, 
and the population had increased to 87,000. Soon after, 
the Legislative Council of the Territory provided for a 
convention to frame a State constitution, the time of meet- 
ing being May, 1835, and the place Detroit. Naturally the 
coming convention and the new constitution were subjects 
of much earnest discussion. Mr. Pierce writes: "It was 
at this period in our history that the Michigan School Sys- 
tem had its inception and origin. Gen. Isaac E. Crary, a 
graduate of an Eastern college, and a warm friend of edu- 
cation, was for a year or two an inmate of my house. The 
condition and prospects of our new State were often the 
subject of discussion, and especially of schools of various 
grades, from the highest to the lowest. About this time, 
Cousin's report on the Prussian system, made to the French 
minister of Public Instruction, came into my hands, and 
was read with much interest. Sitting one pleasant after- 



22 CONSTITUTION OF 1835 

noon upon a log, on the hill north of where the Court House 
at Marshall now stands, Gen. Crary and myself discussed, 
for a long time, the fundamental principles which wen: 
deemed important for the convention to adopt, in laying the 
foundation of a new State. The subject of education was 
a theme of especial interest. It was agreed, if possible, that 
it should make a distinct branch of the government, and that 
the constitution ought to provide for an officer who should 
have this whole matter in charge, and thus keep its impor- 
tance perpetually before the public mind." '' 

CONVENTION AND CONSTITUTION OF 1835. 

Mr. Crary was elected as a delegate to the convention 
and was appointed chairman of the committee on education. 
The ideas evolved in the discussion on the log in Marshall, 
took form in the article on education in the constitution. 
Unfortunately the prceedings and debates of this conven- 
tion have not been preserved in such form as to be acces- 
sible. Superintendent Shearman, in his report for 1852, 
writes : "There was no debate in relation to the importance 
of making suitable provision for Public Instruction. A 
committee was appointed to draft an article, of which Isaac 
E. Crary of Calhoun, was chairman. It was reported on 
the second day of June, 1835, ^^^^ was accepted substantially 
as it came from the hands of the committee. As reported 
to the convention, the article provided for a Secretary of 
Public Instruction. When the article came up in the con- 
vention. Judge Woodbridge remarked that he had read it, 
and although it was new and not to be found in any other 
constitution, yet he was inclined to give it his support, if 



EDUCATIONAL PROVISIONS 



23 



the chairman of the committee would consent to make one 
alteration, viz : to strike out the word Secretary, and insert 
Superintendent. The chairman remarked that the report 
w-as beyond his control, but if there was no objection on 
the part of any member of the convention, in order to secure 
the support of the member from Wayne, he would readily 
consent to the change. The change was accordingly made. 
The article, as reported, provided for a library in each school 
district. This was amended in convention, by the casting 
vote of the President, by striking out the words school dis- 
trict, and inserting township. The article being referred 
to the committee on phraseology and revision, the words 
at least, were inserted, where they appeared in the old con- 
stitution ; and the article thus passed, secured by this slight 
addition and change, the establishment, by subsequent legis- 
lation, of libraries in every school district." The following 
is the article as adopted. 

EDUCATION. 

1. "The Governor shall nominate, and by and with the 
advice and consent of the Legislature, in joint vote, shall 
appoint a Superintendent of Public Instruction, who shall 
hold his office for two years, and whose duties shall be pre- 
scribed by law. 

2. The Legislature shall encourage, by all suitable means, 
the promotion of intellectual, scientific, and agricultural 
improvement. The proceeds of all lands that have been 
or hereafter may be granted by the United States to this 
State for the support of schools, which shall hereafter be 
sold or disposed of, shall be and remain a perpetual fund; 



24 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS 

the interest of which, together with the rents of all such 
unsold laiads, shall be inviolably appropriated to the sup- 
port of schools throughout the State. 

3. The Legislature shall provide for a system of common 
schools by which a school shall be kept up and supported in 
each school district at least three months in every year ; and 
any school district neglecting to keep up and support a 
school may be deprived of its equal proportion of the inter- 
est of the public fund. 

4. As soon as the circumstances of the State will per- 
mit, the Legislature shall provide for the establishment of 
libraries ; one at least in each township ; and the money 
which shall be paid by persons as an equivalent for exemp- 
tion from military duty, and the clear proceeds of all fines 
assessed in the several counties for any breach of the penal 
laws, shall be exclusively applied for the support of said 
libraries. 

5. The Legislature shall take measures for the protec- 
tion, improvement or other disposition of such lands as have 
been or may hereafter be reserved or granted by the United 
States to this State for the support of a University ; and the 
funds accruing from the rents or sale of such lands, or 
from any other source for the purpose aforesaid, shall be 
and remain a permanent fund for the support of said Uni- 
versity, with such branches as the public convenience may 
hereafter demand, for the promotion of literature, the arts 
and sciences, and as may be authorized by the terms of such 
grant; and it shall be the duty of the Legislature, as soon 
as may be, to provide effectual means for the improvement 
and permanent security of the funds of said University." 

Among the amendments to the constitution of 1835, was 



CONSTITUTION OF 1850 25 

one submitted to the people and ratified at the election in 
November, 1849, providing for the election of certain State 
officers, and among these the Superintendent of Public In- 
struction, by the people. This amendment was incorpor- 
ated into the constitution of 1850. (Report of the proceed- 
ings of the Convention of 1850, page XXL) 

CONVENTION AND CONSTITUTION OF 1S50. 

Isaac E. Crary and John D. Pierce were both members 
from Calhoun county, of the Convention for the revision of 
the constitution in 1850, and Mr. Pierce was a member of 
the committee on education. This subject received a large 
share of attention, and the published debates give evidence 
of considerable diversity of opinion upon several features 
of the educational system. The report of the committee 
did not, as in the convention of 1835, receive approval and 
adoption without discussion. Conditions had changed dur- 
ing the intervening period and it was not easy to secure 
unanimity of action upon some matters of vital importance 
to the value and efficiency of the school system. No extend- 
ed report of the discussion can be given, but the topics can 
be indicated upon which the greatest diversity of opinion 
appeared. 

The first section of the committee's report, providing for 
a Superintendent of Public Instruction, to be elected by the 
people, was adopted with but little debate. A feeble attempt 
was made to attach the superintendency as an appendage 
to one of the other State offices, as had been done in New 
York, but the proposition received very little support. Both 
Mr. Crary and Mr. Pierce spoke strongly and at some 



26 SUBJECTS OF DEBATE 

length, in favor of continuing the office in its previous form, 
and the general sentiment of the convention was in the same 
direction. 

The questions which provoked the most extended debate 
aiid revealed the widest diversity of views were : Shall the 
primary schools be made absolutely free for a certain num- 
ber of months in the year, and, if so, shall they be made free 
immediately or after some specified date? How shall the 
necessary funds be raised for the support of these schools? 
Shall it be by a general State tax, by township tax, or by a 
district tax? Upon what basis shall the proceeds of the 
school fund and the money derived from State taxation be 
distributed to the various districts? Shall the distribution 
be on the basis of the number of children of school age in 
the District ? or shall it be upon the basis of the whole num- 
ber of inhabitants in the district? or shall each township 
and district receive back a sum just equal to the amount of 
taxes which it has paid? or can some other basis be found? 
After protracted discussion and many fruitless efforts to 
come to some agreement, the question of the basis of distri- 
bution was left to be determined by the Legislature. 

The question of free schools was very earnestly debated, 
and the debates revealed a wide diversity of views. Three 
unequal parties upon this question existed in the Conven- 
tion. A few members were opposed to free schools both 
from principle and policy. The arguments employed by 
these gentlcment were, in substance, the injustice of taxing 
one man to pay for the education of another man's children, 
and the claim that people would take little interest in the 
education of their children if such education cost them 
nothing ; that people generally valued a thing in proportion 



AS TO FREE SCHOOLS 2"] 

to its cost. Arguments of this sort were frequently heard 
fifty years ago even from teachers and other good friends 
of education. 

Another small party urged strongly that the constitution 
should provide for free schools immediately; that this ques- 
tions should not be left to the decision of some future legis- 
lative body. It was urged, in substance, that the State, by 
some mode of taxation, was bound to provide for the edu- 
cation of all the children within its boundaries ; that taxation 
for this purpose was not taxing one man to educate another 
man's children, but was taxing the property of the State to 
provide for its own protection and safety through the intel- 
ligence and virtue of its present and future citizens. Be- 
tween these two extremes was a larger party, probably a 
majority of the convention, who argued that the constitu- 
tion should simply affirm the principle of free schools, the 
desirability of such schools when circumstances would per- 
mit, and leave the Legislature to determine when circum- 
stances would justify action making them free. The dis- 
cussions upon this topic were long and earnest, and resulted 
in the compromise which appears in the educational article, 
requiring the Legislature within five years "to provide for 
and establish a system of primary schools, whereby a school 
shall be kept without charge for tuition at least three months 
in each year, in every school district in the State." The 
limit of three months was unsatisfactory to the friends of 
free schools, but they accepted it on the principle that "half 
a loaf is better than no bread at all." They trusted to an 
improved public sentiment to demand, in the near future, 
a longer term than three months. How successive legis- 
latures for several years, disregarded the mandate of the 
constitution is a matter of history not flattering to State 



28 TEACHING LANGUAGES 

pride or even a comfortable degree of self-respect. 

The question of allowing other languages than the Eng- 
lish to be taught in the elementary public schools occasioned 
considerable debate. The original report of the committee 
on education read : ''The English language, and no other, 
shall be taught in such schools.'' The discussion brought 
out the fact that in some of the districts the English lan- 
guage was not used, all instruction and exercises being in 
French or German. To remedy the undesirable condition 
it was proposed to make the clause read : "The English 
language shall be taught in all the primary schools of this 
State." This form was unsatisfactory, since it only made 
it obligatory that the English language should be taught. 
The general instruction in the school might still be carried 
on in another language, and the school not be really an 
English school. The form found in the constitution was 
finally adopted after a free exchange of opinions. It is 
clear enough from the whole tenor of proceedings that it 
was not the intention of the constitution to exclude the 
teaching of other languages, but to insist upon the use 
of English in the processes of instruction. It was distinctly 
stated in the debates that the amendment does not declare 
that no other language shall be taught ; but it niakes the 
English language the medium of instruction. It was said : 
'Xarge numbers of emigrants are locating in the State ; 
it is the true policy of the State to have them acquire the 
use of the English language in the shortest period 
practicable. There is an anxiety on the part of these emi- 
grants to preserve their own language to the exclusion of 
the English. This is an evil that should be remedied." 

One of the most extended discussions occurred upon the 



MODES OF TAXATION 29 

question of the method of taxation to raise money for the 
support of the primary schools. Three methods were 
urged; (i) a general State tax, (2) a tax levied by the 
township, (3) taxes levied by the school district, which 
might involve the rate bill. The advantages and disad- 
vantages of each method were very fully presented, and the 
debates, as a whole, are decidedly interesting. No agree- 
ment could be reached and the question was left to be con- 
sidered and answered by. future Legislatures. It is still an 
unsolved problem. The subject of an Agricultural college 
came in for extended consideration, as also the question 
of the disposition of specific taxes. 

A vigorous and protracted debate took place upon the 
question, whether the Regents of the University should 
i^e appointed by the Governor with the consent of the 
Senate or the Legislature, or should be elected by the people. 
At one stage of the Convention the proposition that they 
should be nominated by the Governor and appointed by 
the Legislature in joint sessions, was adopted. The prop- 
osition was made and advocated with apparent seriousness 
to have the Professors in the University also elected by the 
people. 

The references to the debates in the Convention have been 
made to indicate the general sentiment of the leading men 
of the State upon educational affairs at that period. The 
differences between the article on education in the consti- 
tution of 1835 and that of 1850 may be studied with profit 
bv the student of educational history. The changes brought 
about bv the development of educational institutions, and 
of the State generally, during fifteen years will be readily 
observed. The democratic tendencies of the age are seen 



30 



EDUCATIONAL ARTICLE 



in making all State officers elected by the sovereign people, 
and in the short terms of office given to these officials. The 
distrust of the legislative body is indicated by the large 
amount of legislation introduced into the constitution itself. 
Two amendments have since been adopted affecting the 
article on education, one providing for the election of a 
board of eight regents without reference to judicial dis- 
tricts, with a term of eight years ; and the other providing 
that fines collected for breaches of the penal statutes may 
be used for other than library purposes. The article is 
given as amended. 



CONSTITUTION OF 1850. 

ARTICLE XIIL 

EDUCATION. 

"SECTION I. The superintendent of public instruction 
shall have the general supervision of public instruction, and 
his duties shall be prescribed by law. 

vSkc. 2. The proceeds from the sales of all lands that 
have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States 
to the State for educational purposes, and the proceeds of 
all lands or other property given by individuals, or appro- 
priated by the State for like purposes, shall be and remain 
a perpetual fund, the interest and income of which, together 
with the rents of all such lands as may remain unsold, shall be 
inviolably appropriated and annually applied to the specific 
objects of the original gift, grant, or appropriation. 

Sec. 3. All lands, the titles to which shall fail from a 



EDUCATIONAL ARTICLE 



31 



defect of heirs, shall escheat to the State ; and the interest 
on the clear proceeds from the sales thereof shall be appro- 
priated exclusively to the support of primary schools. 

Sec. 4. The legislature shall, within five years from the 
adoption of this constitution, provide for and establish a 
system of primary schools, whereby a school shall be kept 
without charge for tuition, at least three months in each 
year, in every school district in the State ; and all instruc- 
tion in said schools shall be conducted in the English lan- 
guage. 

Skc. 5. A school shall be maintained in each school dis- 
trict at least three months in each year. Any school dis- 
trict neglecting to maintain such school shall be deprived 
for the ensuing year of its proportion of the income of the 
primary school fund, and of all funds arising from taxes 
for the support of schools. 

Sec. 6. There shall be elected in the year eighteen hun- 
dred and sixty-three, at the time of the election of a justice 
of the supreme court, eight regents of the university, two 
of whom shall hold their office for two years, two for four 
years, two for six years, and two for eight years. They 
shall enter upon the duties of their office on the first of Jan- 
uary next succeeding their election. At every regular elec- 
tion of a justice of the supreme court thereafter, there shall 
be elected two regents, whose term of office shall be eight 
years. "When a vacancy shall occur in the office of regent, 
it shall be filled by appointment of the governor. The 
regents thus elected shall constitute the board of regents of 
the University of Michigan.* 



*Amendment agreed to by the legislature of 186 1, and approved 
by the people in 1862. 



32 EDUCATIONAL ARTICLE 

Sec. 7. The regents of the university, and their succes- 
sors in office, shall continue to constitute the body corporate 
known by the name and title of "The regents of the univer- 
sity of Michigan." 

Sec. 8. The regents of the university shall, at their first 
annual meeting, or as soon thereafter as may be, elect a 
president of the university, who shall be ex officio a member 
of their board, with the privilege of speaking, but not of 
voting. He shall preside at the meetings of the regents, 
and be the principal executive officer of the university. The 
board of regents shall have the general supervision of the 
university, and the direction and control of all expenditures 
from the university interest fund. 

Sec 9. There shall be elected at the general election in 
the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, three 
members of a State board of education ; one for two years, 
one for four years, and one for six years ; and at each suc- 
ceeding biennial election there shall be elected one member 
of such board, who shall hold his office for six years. The 
superintendent of pul)lic instruction shall be ex officio a 
member and secretary of such board. The board shall have 
the general supervision of the State normal school, and 
their duties shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 10. Institutions for the benefit of those inhabitants 
who are deaf, dumb, blind, or insane, shall always be fos- 
tered and supported. 

Sec. II. The legislature shall encourage the promotion 
of intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improvement ; and 
shall, as soon as practicable, provide for the establishment 
of an agricultural school. The legislature may appropriate 
the twenty-two sections of salt spring lands now unappro- 



CO-NSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS 33 

priated, or the money arising from the sale of the same, 
where such lands have been already sold, and any land 
which may. hereafter be granted or appropritited for such 
purpose, for the support and maintenance of such school, 
and may make the same a branch of the university, for in- 
struction in agriculture and the natural sciences connected 
therev.'ith, and place the same under the supervision of the 
regents of the university. 

Sf,c. 12. The legislature shall also provide for the estab- 
lishment of at least one library in each township and city; 
and all fines assessed and collected in the several counties 
and townships for any breach of he penal laws, shall be 
exclusively applied to the support of such libraries, unless 
otherwise ordered by the township board of any township, 
or the board of education of any city : Provided, That in no 
case shall such fines be used for other than library or school 
purposes."* 

ARTICLE XIV. 
FINANCE AND TAXATION. 

Section i. "All specific State taxes, except those re- 
ceived from the mining companies of the upper peninsula, 
shall be applied in paying the interest upon the primary 
school, university, and other educational funds, and the 
interest and principal of the State debt, in the order herein 
recited, until the extinguishment of the State debt, other 
than the amounts due to educational funds, when such spe- 
cific taxes shall be added to and constitute a part of the 

■-'Amendment agreed to by the legislature of 1879, and approved 
by the people in 188 1. 



34 



CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS 



primary school interest fund. The Legislature shall pro- 
vide for an annual tax, sufficient with other resources, to 
pay the estimated expenses of the State government, the 
interest of the State debt, and such deficiency as may occur 
in the resources." 



CHAPTER III. 

THE STATE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION. 

John D. Pierce, familiarly known in Michigan as "Father 
Pierce," was appointed Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion on July 26, 1836, having been nominated by Governor 
Mason and unanimously confirmed by the Legislature. He 
was instructed to report, at the next session of the Legis- 
lature to be held in January of 1837, "3. system of common 
schools and a plan for a university and its branches." The 
report was prepared with great care, and presented in 
accordance with the instructions. Naturally and properly, 
before giving the details of the system and the plan, he dis- 
cussed, wnth considerable fulness, some of the fundamental 
principles upon wdiich a system of public education in a new, 
free State should be based, and the ends which it should 
seek to accomplish. The first and second reports of Super- 
intendent Pierce may, without impropriety, be regarded as 
the educational constitution of the Commonwealth ; and, in 
justice to him and his work, a history of public education 
in the State should begin with at least a resume of his 
views and purposes and of the considerations by which he 
su])portcd them. Some of his recommendations have been 
adversely criticised, in certain quarters, through misappre- 
hension and from ignorance of the actual condition of aflfairs 
at that time. 

35 



36 IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION 

In the preparation of his first reports, and in several of 
his recommendations, Mr. Pierce was obviously influenced 
bv the educational conditions existing at the close of the 
Territorial period, and also by an intelligent and earnest 
study of the Prussian system of education as described in 
the able report of M. Cousin which had then been recently 
published. He moreover took pains to obtain the opinions 
and assistance of a number of the most eminent educators 
of the east. As a basis for the recommendations which 
he proposed to make, he began by calling attention to the 
vital importance of knowledge and virtue as the "broad 
and permanent foundations" of a free state. 

IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION. 

"In an educated and virtuous community there is safety ; 
the rights of individuals are regarded and property is re- 
spected and secure. It may safely be assumed as a fun- 
damental principle in our form of government, that knowl- 
edge is an element so essential to its existence and vigorous 
action that we can have no rational hope of its perpetuation 
unless it is generally diffused." He emphasized especially 
the value and importance of elementary education "for the 
great mass of the people." "Universities may be highly 
important and academies of great utility, but primary schools 
are the main dependence." Such schools, he affirmed, 
should be regarded as the foundation of our whole system of 
public instruction and the chief support of all our free institu- 
tions. "National liberty, sound morals, and education must 
stand or fall together. Common schools are democratic in 
their nature and influence ;they tend to unify society ; in them 
the rich and the poor come together on terms of perfect 



FREE SCHOOLS 37 

equality. Let free schools be established and maintained 
in perpetuity, and there can be no such thing as a perma- 
nent aristocracy in our land ; for the monopoly of wealth 
is powerless, where mind is allowed freely to come in con- 
tact with mind. We need wisdom, and prudence, and fore- 
sight in our councils ; fixedness of purpose, integrity and 
uprightness of heart in our rulers ; unwavering attachment 
to the rights of man among all our people ; but these high 
^attributes of a noble patriotism, these essential elements of 
civilization and improvement, will disappear when schools 
shall cease to exert an all-pervading influence through the 
length and breadth of our land." 

FREE SCHOOLS AND REQUIRED ATTENDANCE. 

Having thus stated the absolute necessity of education and 
intelligence and morality among the people as a whole, he 
goes on to inquire how schools, as a means of securing these 
ends, can be sustained. His conclusion is that they ''ought 
emphatically to be the property and care of the state. To 
neglect them, would be to neglect the vital energies of the 
body politic. Hence the government ought so far to assume 
the direction, as to see to it that the benefit of the school 
system is extended to all parts of the community." It being 
the duty of the government to provide schools, he urges 
that it is both the right and duty of the State ''to require 
of all persons, having the care of children, their education. 
And effectually to secure the accomplishment of this object, 
they should be required to send them to school the consti- 
tutional proportion of each year, between the ages of five 
and seventeen." 



38 REQUIRED ATTENDANCE 

He iir£^-cd that every district 1)C required to maintain a 
]:)rimary school at its own expense for a certain number of 
months in the year ; this school should be a free school, 
open to all "without money and without price." Being free 
and open to all, all should be required to accept and appro- 
priate its advantages. It should not be permitted that any 
child should grow up in ignorance. We have here the 
doctrine of free schools with the correlative doctrine of 
com])ulsory attendance. In advocating this doctrine Sup- 
erintendent Pierce was in advance of the public sentiment 
of his time. He insisted, nevertheless, that it was a logical 
conclusion from the premises wdiich had been laid down. 
He said : "In all this there is nothing inconsistent with 
rational liberty. It is merely providing for the safety of the 
State, for its health, happiness, and vigorous growth. This 
dutv stands on precisely the same ground as the law which 
obliges all the citizens to be enrolled and occasionally do 
military duty. It is a wise precautionary measure for the 
public security. * * ''' Most certainly nothing can be 
more desirable, and nothing more reasonable. The object 
to be attained is the welfare of the individual instructed and 
the security of the State. To secure this object, the instruc- 
tion must be given ; and hence the state has a right to 
require the education of all children and youth, and impose 
upon all to whom their management and care is committed, 
the duty of educating them ; and if they can not do it 
themselves, to send them to the public schools." 

SCHOOLS OF HIGH CHARACTER. 

If the state assumes the duty of providing schools and 
assumes the right to require parents to send their children 



SCHOOLS O^ HIGH CHARACTER 39 

to these schools, unless they make other adequate arrange- 
ments for their education, it follows as a natural conclusion 
that such schools must be made, in the words of Mr. Pierce, 
"amply sufficient to answer the just expectations of human- 
ity and the demands of the State. Unless these schools 
are adequate to meet the wants of the whole community, 
private seminaries will be established by the rich, at which 
only their own children can be educated." He deprecated 
the establishment of such private schools to any consider- 
able extent, because, as he believed, they would, if ably con- 
ducted and well endowed, "necessarily lead to a deprecia- 
tion of the character of the free schools, and ultimately to 
their abandonment. The experience of the older states 
abundantly confirms this representation. Wherever the 
liberality and enterprise of individuals have established 
flourishing- private institutions, they have uniformly had a 
pernicious influence upon the common schools. Instead of 
being improved and elevated by their proximity to such 
institutions, they have lost their character and usefulness. 
In these towns where private seminaries have been located 
and well sustained, the free schools will be found, without 
exception, to be in a miserable condition. Where such insti- 
tutions exist, all whose means will allow them to do it, pat- 
ronize them by sending their children. * * * The result 
is, that all who do this necessarily become indifferent 
towards the public schools, and lose all interest in their 
welfare. It may not be consistent with the principles of 
our constitution to prohibit private seminaries ; but it is 
consistent with both the spirit and letter of our institutions 
to place the public schools upon high and elevated ground, 
to make them adequate to the wants of the whole commu- 



40 PRIVATE SCHOOLS 

nity ; to place them on such a f(K)ting as to furnish the best 
instruction, not only in the more common, but in all the 
higher branches of elemen.tary knowledge ; so that those 
who send to them may liavc the satisfaction of knowing 
tliat their chikh'en are receiving as good instruction as the 
wealth of the Indias can purchase. * * * The primary 
schools should be of the first order. The academies 
(])ranches of tlie university) of the highest grade, and the 
universities assume and maintain a commanding position ; 
and each and all of them to be so ably conducted as to give 
entire satisfaction to all reasonable, unprejudiced minds." 

PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

The position, of Superintendent Pierce in relation to pri- 
vate schools and denominational colleges was vigorously 
opposed at that time by many influential friends of educa- 
tion, and has been severely criticised since by some writers. 
The merits or demerits of his views can not be fairly and 
justly estimated without a knowledge of the actual condi 
tion of educational aflfairs and of the schools in the oldei 
states, and of the general trend of public sentiment. The 
common elementary schools, at that period, were generally 
of the most unsatisfactory character. The well-to-do por- 
tion of the community held them in low esteem, if not in' 
absolute contempt. In some sections the\ were regarded 
as "pauper schools," and were patronized only by those who 
could not meet the expense of tuition in private institutions. 
Public secondary schools, with a few solitary exceptions, 
did not exist. Every important town or neighborhood had 
its academy or seminary, continuing through the entire year, 



CONDITIONS IN A NEW STATE 41 

or through a fall and spring term. "The common school 
revival/' set on foot by Horace Mann and his co-workers, 
was only in its embryonic state ; it had not yet taken a 
strong hold upon the public mind. It is no easy task to 
revolutionize the established habits and the deep-seated sen- 
timents of an old community. Mr. Mann did not live long 
enough to see public high schools supplant the academies 
of New England in the estimation and patronage of peo- 
ple who could afford to pay the cost of private instruction. 
In a young community, unhampered by old traditions, 
old customs, and old prejudices, it is possible to introduce* 
new ideas, new methods, new institutions, with a reasonable 
prospect that they will be fairly considered, justly estimated, 
and readily adopted, if found worthy of acceptance. For 
these various reasons public educational institutions of all 
grades, from the primary school to the university, came into 
popular favor and were patronized by all classes in the 
west at an earlier period than in the east. Public senti- 
ment was in an impressible and formative state ; it had not 
yet crystalized. Superintendent Pierce and his immediate 
associates, wise enough to comprehend the exact situation, 
vv^ished to take advantage of this fact and to give the public 
schools at least a fair chance to win popular favor, and to 
prove that they could furnish facilities for primary and sec- 
ondary education of a quality excellent enough to satisfy 
the reasonable demands of the whole community. To 
accomplish this purpose it was necessary to turn the atten- 
tion, interest, and effort of the public generally toward the 
public schools and away from private institutions. He 
desired to encourage and foster the public schools and to 
discourage private ones. He wrote: "With us, as a state, 



42 GENERAL PRINCIPLES 

all is new ; and we arc at liberty to adopt such principles, and 
form such rules oi action as, on mature reflection, the great 
interests of learning- may seem to require. It is respect- 
fully suggested to the consideration of the Legislature, 
whether it will be desirable to incorporate such a number 
of private associations for the purpose of education as will 
have the effect to draw off the attention and interest of any 
considerable portion of the public from the institutions 
founded by the State." 

SECOND REPORT. 

In his second report he continued the discussion of some 
of the general principles upon which the school sysiein 
should rest, the necessity of securing, in some way, the edu- 
cation of the whole population, and the policy which should 
be adopted in relation to private schools, especially those 
of collegiate rank. lie wrote : "In laying the foundations 
of a new state, it is all important to provide, not only for 
the education of every individual of the present, but of each 
one of all succeeding generations. Unless ample provision 
is made for each individual of all classes, we can have no 
security that the great mass will ever be educated ; for the 
great whole is made up of individuals. * * * Laws 
should be so framed in all cases, as to leave unimpaired, 
and in all its force, individual responsibility. It is the duty 
of parents to educate their children ; and no legislative en- 
actment should interfere with this obligation. But it is 
well known that this duty is neglected in innumerable 
instances. It is hence the right of the state so far to inter- 
pose its paternal authority, as to give additional might to 
this obligation, and make such provisions as will secure the 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES 



43 



desired result. And it is exceedingly desirable that such a 
system be ultimately adopted as will make it the interest 
as well as the duty of each individual to unite and cooperate 
with all others in accomplishing an object worthy the high- 
est consideration. * * * The truth is the only rational 
security the great body of the people can have, is to be 
found in the general diffusion of knowledge among them- 
selves. But so generally do parents, unaided by sanction 
and encouragement of law, neglect the education of their 
children, that the great mass will remain uneducated, and 
the multitude of the rising generation grow up in ignorance 
of their duties as citizens of one vast commonwealth, unless 
the state effectually interpose its rightful authority, and 
make adequate provision for the instruction of all classes. 
;.k >jc >i< ^here is and can l)e no security of individual rights, 
persons, or property, except in an educated and virtuous 
community. In no other will liberty or life be regarded. 
But though an educated community may not necessarily be 
a virtuous, and hence a safe community, yet it is true in fact 
that an ignorant people are generally a vicious people. In 
the midst of such a people, free institutions never did and 
never can long subsist and flourish. Nothing but the strong 
arm of power can impose upon them such restraints as will 
keep them in subjugation to law and the rights of govern- 
ment." 

The Superintendent again urged the importance of secur- 
ing "a full supply of well qualified teachers," and "of making 
the public schools fully adequate to the wants of the entire 
community, and of furnishing them with teachers compe- 
tent to discharge the duties of their high calling. If they 
are made, as they should be, decidedly superior to all other 



44 



CHARTERvS FOR COLLEGES 



schools, they will be patronized as well by the rich as the 
poor. No schools are so expensive as private schools. Thus 
in Cincinnati, where the greatest provision is made for 
the common school education of any city in the west, fifteen 
hundred children are taught in private schools at an annual 
expense of twenty-seven thousand dollars ; while in the pub- 
He schools about three thousand are taught at a yearly 
expense of twenty-five thousand dollars. And it is grati- 
fying to learn that the best teachers are to be found in the 
public schools; and so judiciously are these schools man- 
aged, that they are fast superseding all private ones, and 
gaining the ascendency in the minds of all classes." 

CHARTERS FOR COLLEGES. 

In this report Mr. Pierce discussed, at considerable length 
the question of granting charters for private and denomina- 
tional colleges. As his position upon this matter has been 
subjected to severe criticism, it is only common justice to 
allow him to present his views in his own language as fully 
as space will permit. He says : "The question of chartering 
private associations with university powers, giving the 
right of conferring degrees, is one of the first magnitude 
as it regards the higher branches of classical education. It 
is a question not of feeling, not of liberality, but a 
great question of state policy. It is a question involv- 
the highest consideration, the determination and set- 
tlement of which will affect the character of the 
state in all time to come. Its future reputation in 
the higher departments of literature and science depends 
chiefly on the decision of this question. When this decision 



CHARTERS FOR COLLEGES 45 

is finally made, it will not require the inspiration of a proph- 
et to determine whether the state shall eventually assume 
the first rank in the republic of letters, by founding and 
rearing up an institution of noble stature and just propor- 
tions, w^orthy alike of the state and of learning, and equally 
worthy the name of a university, or whether the state shall 
ultimately sink to a low level in the world of knowledge, 
liaving institutions under the imposing name of colleges, 
scattered through the length and breadth of the land, with- 
out funds, without cabinets, without apparatus, without li- 
braries, without talents, without character, and without the 
ability of ever attaining them. If one is granted, others 
must be, and there is no limit." Referring to the older 
eastern states and their numerous colleges, with their com- 
[)aratively abundant resources in way of population and 
wealth, he said: "But even in these states they (the col- 
leges) are so numerous that, with all their population, 
wealth and power, it is found to be exceedingly difficult to 
sustain and support them. Not more than three or four 
of them have ever been able to attain anything like a com- 
manding position. Generally their rank is low and ever 
must be ; and they are obliged to struggle from year to 
year for a bare existence. It is indeed a herculean task to 
found, raise up and maintain a college of an elevated char- 
acter. The indispensable yearly expenditure of such an 
institution is necessarily great. If we go south or west of 
the states already enumerated, we shall find chartered insti- 
tutions, under the imposing appellation of universities and 
colleges, almost w^ithout number. But w^e shall look in 
vain for an institution of eminence and high literary rep- 
utation. All these states are broken into fragments, each 



46 TEACHINGS OF EXPERIENCE 

one of which has its university or college ; and the great 
contest seems to be for mere life ; to live is all they do, and 
it is all they can expect to do. '-^ '•' * How narrow-minded 
and miserable the policy that has resulted in such a state 
of things ! a state of things to be exceedingly deplored, 
because directly at war with high attainments in literature, 
science, and the arts. Was there but a single institution 
in each of the different states, in which all funds, energies, 
patronage, and talents of its state were centered, what an 
elevated national literature, instead of tlie present stinted 
growth." 

With a view "of obtaining light from tlie experience of 
others," Superintendent Pierce addressed a letter of inquiry 
to a number of "distinguished gentlemen and scholars, 
residing in different parts of the country," in which he said : 
"I wish to obtain the result of your observation as to the 
effect produced on the higher branches of literature and 
science by the multiplication of universities ana colleges in 
the United States. We have just commenced our existence 
as a state ; and the public mind is directed with much solici- 
tude to the subject of education. But in the creation of 
the higher institutions of learning, a question has arisen 
whether we shall grant to an indefinite number of private 
associations the right of conferring degrees, or for the pres- 
ent concentrate our energies in one university. The ques- 
ion is expected to come up for discussion at the next session 
of our legislature ; and it is highly important tliat we avail 
ourselves of all the light, which the wisdom and experience 
of others can furnish." He embodied in his report, replies 
from President Wayland, of Brov/n Uniyeri^ity : from Pres- 
ident Edward Everett, of Harvard Universitv ; and from 



SAFEGUARDS DEMANDED 47 

several other distinguished educators, all of whom, with 
varying degrees of positiveness, expressed the opinion that 
it would he the part of wisdom, in a new state, with re- 
sources necessarily limited, to concentrate efforts and means 
upon a single institution, rather than to grant to a large 
numher of private associations collegiate or university pow- 
ers. In summing up the conclusions from his correspon- 
dence, Mr. Pierce said : "It results therefore with great 
clearness from the statements and reasonings presented, that 
the multiplication of institutions under the imposing name of 
universities and colleges, in our country, is to be regarded 
as an evil of great magnitude, as exceedingly detrimental 
to the interests of literature, science, and the arts." Instead, 
however, of recommending that no charters be granted to 
private institutions upon any conditions, he went on to say : 
"To guard effectually against the evils so universally depre- 
cated, and in accordance with the practice in New York, 
let the regents of the university be empowered to grant char- 
ters of colleges only on condition that the association apply- 
ing shall have actually secured, for the use of the institution, 
the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ; of this sum, fifty 
thousand dollars, at least, should be invested in suitable 
buildings and other accommodations, and the balance, one 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so invested and secured 
as that the full amount of the interest arising therefrom, 
shall be yearly available for the support of the college, so 
long as it shall continue in operation, reserving to the 
state in all cases, the right of visitation and of an annual 
report. No institution ought ever to be allowed to assume 
the name and responsibility of a college on a less solid and 
permanent foundation." 



48 VIEWS PARTIALLY ADOPTED 

In concluding the discussion of this subject Mr. Pierce 
said : "Deeming the question above discussed to be one 
of vital importance, the Superintendent has felt constrained, 
in the outset of that career of improvement in which the 
state seems disposed to enter, to present to the consideration 
of the legislature, his views in an extended form on the sub- 
ject. It is to be borne in mind, that the policy now adopted 
is destined to affect the literary standing and character of 
the state, not only for the time of the present generation, 
but so long as the republic and its institutions shall be pre- 
served." 

The views and recommendations of Superintendent 
Pierce were not fully . adopted by the legislature; but they 
undoubtedly had an influence in checking, to a very consid- 
erable extent, the tendency to multiply unnecessarily pri- 
vate institutions of an educational character with collegiate 
powers. The drift of public sentiment today is strongly 
in the direction of the position which he assumed and 
attempted to fortify. Judicial candor compels one to ac- 
knowledge the strength of the position and the force of his 
reasoning as the conditions were at that period in the pro- 
gress of the State. Changed conditions, however, have 
rendered the precautionary restrictions which he urged no 
longer needful or desirable. The public schools of all 
grades will now be benefited rather than injured by the 
establishment of a proper number of well-endowed, effic- 
iently supported, and ably conducted private and denomina- 
tional institutions. 

COMPETENT TEACHERS. 
Having completed, in his first report, his arguments for 



SUPPLY OF TEACHERS 49 

the estal3lishnient of primary schools of high . grade and 
sufficient in number to meet the wants of the whole commu- 
nity, Mr. Pierce proceeded to discuss the question of secur- 
ing an adequate supply of qualified teachers. Keeping in 
mind the fact that no public normal school had, at that time, 
been opened in the United States, and that only a few of 
the most intelligent and earnest friends of common schools 
had begun to consider the importance of special preparation 
for the work of teaching, his views upon the subject are 
worthy of being repeated and held in remembrance by all 
friends of educational progress. His opinions had evidently 
been influenced by the report of Dr. C. E. Stowe upon the 
teachers' seminaries of Europe, by the report of M. Cousin, 
and by his acquaintance v/ith the movements in the east 
under the leadership of Horace Mann, Henry Barnard and 
others, from whose writings he quoted. He .said: ''The 
most perfect organization of the entire system of schools, 
in all the varied departments of instruction, must fail of 
securing the desired results without a sufficient number of 
competent teachers." He quoted from an address before 
the American Institute of Instruction and from a memorial 
of that body to the Legislature of Massachusetts : "If 
education is a science, how is it to be understood without 
study? And if teaching is an art, how can it be success- 
fully practiced without suitable preparation? How then 
can the profession of teacher be esteemed, if men eenerally 
enter it who know little or nothing of either? '•' * * * 
On what principle of common sense is it that a man is con- 
sidered good enough for a teacher, because he has satisfac- 
torily proved himself good for no one thing else? Why is 
it, that the utter vv'ant of health to exercise any other pro- 



50 



TEACHERS' WAGES 



fession, Ts frequently the only reason why a man should be 
thrust into this, which requires more active mental labor in 
the discharge of its duties than any other profession what- 
soever?'' He also gave extracts from M. Cousin's report 
and from a recent report of Hon. John A. Dix, the Superin- 
tendent of schools in the State of New York, advocating 
the establishment of institutions for the proj:)er education 
and training of teachers. It was stated that the regents 
of the university of New York had already "appended to 
eight existing academic institutions, a department expressly 
for the education of teachers." Mr. Pierce proposed to 
provide for teachers' departments in connection with the 
branches of the university to supply the immediate pressing 
demand for more competent instructors in the primary 
schools. 

TEACHERS' WAGES. 

In this connection he touched upon the subject of teach- 
ers' wages, and the imperative necessity of securing for 
tliem a more adequate compensation. He wrote: "It is 
obvious that the great reason why there has been such a 
deficiency in the number of qualified teachers, is to be found 
in an unwillingness on the part of the inhabitants to pay 
such wages as to secure the services of individuals of the 
required talents and qualifications. If so, it is confidently 
believed to be within the power of the state to obviate the 
difficulty. Let teachers be paid as they ought to be, let 
them receive such compensations as will remunerate them 
for their services, and sufficient numbers will be found to 
fit themselves for the business of teaching. And to secure 
their employment when fitted to teach, let the provisions of 



WAGES OF TEACHERS 



51 



the law be such that no township shall be entitled to any 
portion of the income of the public fund, which does not 
employ thoroughly educated teachers. It has been sug- 
gested that no man ought ever to be considered as qualified 
to teach a school, wliose time is not worth at least thirty 
dollars a month ; and tliat no female ought to be engaged 
in this work whose services are not worth fifteen dollars 
per month. This suggestion is certainly worthy of consid- 
eration ; and it is also worthy of consideration whether it 
w^ill not be expedient to fix on a minimum price, below which 
no teacher shall be entitled to receive aid from the avails 
of the public fund ; and to provide prospectively that every 
teacher of the pul^lic schools shall have been through a reg- 
ular course of training, and received from the academic 
board a diploma, setting forth his qualifications as a teacher. 
>ic :.k >i< 'pi^g almost miiversal employment of incompetent 
teachers is a waste of money, a waste of time, and a waste 
of intellect ; the greatest conceivable outrage under the 
name of benevolence and duty, that can be perpetrated upon 
the rights and dearest interests of the rising generation, 
tending directly to moral as well as political degradation 
an.d slavery. Whatever system may be adopted, and how- 
ever perfect in form, it will prove itself essentially defective, 
unless it provides a sufficient number of teachers, well edu- 
cated and bred to the profession, men qualified and compe- 
tent, men who can elevate and leave their mark upon their 
pupils." 

These excerpts present a tolerably completed outline of 
the general principles upon which Superintendent Pierce 
based his common school system and his plan for a univer- 
sity and its branches. Some of his more special suggestions 



52 WAGES OF TEACHERS 

and rcconinieiKlations will be noticed in other connections, 
and also his recommendations in relation to the nmnage- 
ment of educational funds and lands "ranted for educa- 
tional purposes. 



CHAPTER IV. 
ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

The report and recommendations of Superintendent 
F^ierce were followed by the passage of three legislative 
acts, prepared under his direction, during the session com- 
mencing in January, 1837. Some changes were made in 
the act providing for the organization of primary schools, 
when the statutes were revised in 1838. As revised, it was 
published by order of the Legislature under the title "School 
Law of the State of Michigan." 

Mr. Pierce says in his report : "These several acts con- 
stitute what may be termed the Michigan School System." 
One act provided "for the organization and support of Pri- 
mary Schools;" one "for the organization and government 
of the University of Michigan ;" and one "for the disposi- 
tion of the University and Primary school lands, and for 
other purposes." The provisions of these acts make us 
acquainted wath the original educational system of the State. 

THE PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

The unit of this system was, as it still is, the subdivision 
of the tow^nship known as the school district, not to exceed 
nine sections or one-fourth of the township. This limit 
was not removed until the opening year of the twentieth 
century. This small subdivision of the State was made 
practically almost independent in the management of its 

53 



54 THE SCHOOL DISTRICT 

educational affairs. Its internal organization was essen- 
tially the same as in the later years of the Territorial period. 
The right of suffrage upon all matters was given to all 
white male inhabitants over twenty-one years of age resid- 
ing in tlic district and liable to be taxed for school purposes. 
Citizenship at that time was not of as much importance as 
the color of the skin. 



POWERS OF THE DISTRICT. 

The district was empowered to levy a tax, not exceeding 
five hundred dollars in any one year to provide a school 
house ; to raise by tax ten dollars a year for the purchase of 
library books; to determine, by vote, if it choose to do so, 
the l)ooks to be used in the school or leave the selection to 
the district board ; to determine the length of time the 
school should be kept, which should not be less than three 
months in each year ; and to fix the amount of money to 
be raised by tax to pay the wages of teachers, the suni not 
to exceed ninety dollars in any one year. 

The expense for fuel was to be paid by "the inhabitants 
sending pupils to school in proportion to the number of 
pupils and the time they shall attend." In case tne appor- 
tionment of public money and the amount raised by district 
tax for teachers' wages w^ere not sufficient for that purpose, 
the necessary additional sum was to be assessed upon the 
parents or guardians of the children in proportion to the 
number of children sent to the school and the time of attend- 
ance. This was a provision for the "rate-bill" which became 
the subject of so much debate in subsequent years. 



DISTRICT OFFICERS 55 

DISTRICT OFFICERS. 

The district officers were a moderator, an assessor, and 
a director, all elected for one year, and, when acting to- 
gether, constituting a district hoard. The almost autono- 
mous character of the district necessarily made the powers 
of these officers more extensive, and their duties more re- 
sponsible than those of the same officers at the present time. 
They levied and collected taxes voted by the district, the as- 
sessor being in realitv an assessor and also collector as well 
as treasurer. The moderator was, as now, a presiding officer. 
The director performed the usual duties of a clerk ; with the 
advice and consent of the moderator and assessor, or either 
of them, employed teachers and paid them ; took a census 
of the school children of the district ; and made a full annual 
report to the board of township school inspectors. The 
board filled vacancies in its own membership, made a de- 
tailed report at the annual district meeting, and received 
such compensation as the district voted. 

TOWNSHIP SCHOOL OFFICERS. 

Under the State system the township school officers were 
less in number than under the previous Territorial system. 
The changes, on the admission of the State into the Union, 
in respect to the management of school lands made a re- 
duction possible and desirable. A board of three school 
inspectors was chosen annually in the same manner as 
other township officers. The tow^nship clerk was ex-officio 
clerk of this board, but not a member ; he kept the records, 
books, and papers of the board, received communications 



56 TOWNSHIP SCHOOL OFFICERS 

from the superintcndcrit of public instruction and trans- 
mitted reports to the county clerk and performed such 
other duties as the board might require. At a later period 
the numlKM- of inspectors was reduced to two and the town- 
shij) clerk was made a full member of the board. The 
board elected a chairman who was also treasurer and gave 
the usual bonds. 

The board had power, and it was also their duty, to di- 
vide the township into districts and regulate their boundar- 
ies ; to receive school and library moneys from the county 
treasurer and from the township collector ; to apportion 
school and library moneys to the several districts in propor- 
tion to the number of children between the ages of five and 
seventeen ; to make a report to the county clerk annually, 
embodving the substance of the reports from the directors 
of the several districts ; in connection with the uispectors 
of other townships to form fractional districts of territory 
embraced in two or more adjoining townships ; to examine 
teachers and to grant certificates valid for one year, in such 
form as the State Superintendent should prescribe ; and to 
visit all the schools in the township, at least twice in each 
year, "to inquire into their condition, examine the scholars, 
and to give such advice to both teachers and scholars as 
they shall deem proper." The board filled its own vacan- 
cies, and the members were entitled to "the sum of one dol- 
lar and fifty cents per day" for their services. The law 
gave no specific directions in regard to meetings of the 
board for the examination of teachers, or for other pur- 
poses, except for organization, and only required that can- 
didates for the position of teachers should be examined "in 
regard to moral character, learning, and ability to teach 
school." 



DUTIES OF COUNTY OFFICERS 57 

DUTIES OF CERTAIN COUNTY OFFICERS. 

The county clerk was required to receive all communica- 
tions directed to him by the Superintendent of Public In- 
struction, and to dispose of these as directed by that officer ; 
and, on or before the twentieth of November, of each year, 
to make and transmit to the Superintendent a report in 
writing containing a statement of the whole number of 
townships in the county, and a copy of all the reports made 
to him by the township inspectors. The county board of 
supervisors or commissioners allowed the clerk such com- 
pensation for his service as they deemed proper. 

DISTRICT LIBRARIES. 

Every district which made the necessary provision for the 
care of a library, and voted a tax, not exceeding ten dollars, 
annually for the purchase of books, was entitled to receive 
its proportion of the clear proceeds of all fines collected in 
the county for any breach of the penal laws, and. also its 
proportion of any moneys paid for exemption from military 
duty, such moneys being apportioned among the townships 
"according to the number of children between the ages or 
five and seventeen inclusive." The intention of the super- 
intendent and the purpose of the lav/ were to encourage the 
formation of district instead of township libraries. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

The act for "the organization and government" of the 
University vested its management in a board of twelve 
regents, with the addition of a considerable number of c.v 



58 THE UNIVERSITY 

officio members, consisting; of the Governor and several 
others of the State officials. The institntion was to have 
three departments, all the professorships to be established 
were ennmeraterl in the act. New professorships could be 
established only with the consent of the Legislature. The 
regents were required to make a full report of the condition 
of the university annually to a l)oard of visitors aj)pointed 
by the superintendent of pul'lic instruction. This board of 
visitors reported to the superintendent, and he reported to 
the legislature ; and the plans of buildings were to be ap- 
proved by the governor and the superintendent. In connec- 
tion with the superintendent, the regents were authorized 
to establish branches of the university in different parts of 
the State, but not more than one in any county. No branch, 
however, could be established wdthout special authority from 
the legislature. In connection Vv'ith every branch a depart- 
ment for females was to be organized, whenever suitable 
buildings were provided. A departn.ient of agriculture w^as 
also to be established in some one of the branches, and a 
department especially appropriated to the education of 
teachers for the primary schools in each of them. Other 
departments might be organized at the discretion of the 
regents. An examination of this act shows the democratic 
trend of public sentiment at that period. The legislative 
body, as representatives of the people, granted powers and 
privileges w^ith great caution, and reserved the authority 
to give direction in all matters of importance. The regents 
and the superintendent of public instruction were only the 
agents and servants of the law-making body. This theory 
of the legislature explains much that appeared in the sub- 
sequent evolution of the educational system of the State, 



THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT 



59 



and shows that conflicts were inevitable between that body 
and other bodies created by the constitution and deriving 
their authority directly from that instrument. Practical co- 
"ordination" remained to be established by the lessons of 
experience. 

The act relating to "the disposition of the university and 
primary school lands," of great imporance at that time, is 
related to our purpose only so far as it imposed certain duties 
of a permanent nature upon the superintendent of public 
instruction, and, by inference, defined and limited his pow- 
ers. These duties will be indicated in the discussion of the 
next topic. 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF 
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 

Both the original constitution of 1835, and the revised 
constitution of 1850 gave the legislature authority to define 
the' powers and prescribe the duties of the superintendent of 
public instruction. The revised constitution said only that 
he should have the "general supervision of public instruc- 
tion" — a statement which meant much or little, according 
to the interpretation put upon it by the legislative body. No 
single legislative act defined the extent of his powers or 
prescribed in full his duties. Various acts, directly or indi- 
rectly, touched upon the question of his powers, and involved 
the question of his duties. The first statute relating to edu- 
cation, enacted under the constitution of 1835, imposed upon 
the superintendent certain duties merely temporary in their 
nature. Pie was required to prepare and report to the 
legislature, at its next session, in 1837, ^ system of conimon 



6o DUTIES OF SUPERINTENDENT 

schools, and a plan for a university and its branches, and 
to perform various other (Uities relating chiefly to lands 
reserved for educational purposes. When this report had 
been made these duties were performed. 

The act for organizing the university was approved March 
18, 1837 ; the act providing for the organization of primary 
schools on the 20th of the same month, and the act for tb.e 
disposition of university and prin.iary school lands on the 
2 1 St. Each of these acts imposed certain duties of a per- 
manent nature upon the superintendent and, by implication, 
invested him vvith certain pouters. 

The duties imposed by the act for the organization of 
the university were, to aj^point a board of five visitors an- 
nually and to transmit their re})ort to the legislature ; to 
cooperate with the regents in establishing branches of the 
university ; and to approve plans for the university buildings. 

The act for organizing primary schools required the supei- 
intendent, by implication, to furnish the township school 
inspectors with blank forms for teachers' certificates ; to 
receive reports from the county clerks ; and to apportion 
to the various counties the proceeds of the school fund. 

The act providing for the disposition of lands granted 
various powers and imposed corresponding duties. The 
superintendent was vested with authority to care for and 
dispose of such lands in accordance with the provisions of 
law, and to employ, with the approval of the governor, all 
necessary assistants. For several years the superintendent 
was a land commissioner rather than an educational officer. 
As his duties in this direction were fortunately only tempor- 
ary, it is unnecessary to refer to them further in detail. The 
following duties imposed by this act, were generally of a 



; SUMMARY OF DUTIES 6l 

permanent character, and were, in the main, appropriate to 
his office : 

1. To su1)niit to the legislature an annual report exhibit- 
ing the condition of all educational funds ; the condition of 
the public. schools of all grades; and to present such other 
matters pertaining to his office and to the schools as he 
deemed proper. 

2. To prepare and distril)ute suitable blank formis for the 
reports required of the various school officers*; to provide 
regulations for the transaction of business under the school 
laws ; to give proper instructions for the organization and 
government of the public schools ; and such directions 
as he should think advisable in relation to courses of study. 

3. To apportion the income of the school fund to the 
townships and cities of the State in proportion to the num- 
ber of children between the ages of five and eighteen, and 
to apply the income of the university fund according to the 
provisions of the law. 

4. To prepare annually and present to the auditor gen- 
eral a statement of the amount of money payable to the uni- 
versity and to the several counties from the educational 
funds, and to send to the county clerk notices of the amount 
to be paid to the different townships. 

Some of these duties have continued without essential 
change until the present time; others have been modified to 
meet changed conditions : many others have been added dur- 
ing the evolution of the school system. It will be observed 
that the original powers of the superintendent, so far as 
they had relation to the proper functions of an educational 
officer, were very limited. Such limitation was in accord- 
ance with the general policy of the legislature at that period. 



62 SUMMARY OF THE SYSTEM 

There has been a uniform tendency to a gradual extension 
of his authority, and to a corresponding increase of his 
duties and responsibilities. 

A summary of the provisions of the several acts of the 
legislature, interpreted by the discussions and recommenda- 
tions of Superintendent Pierce, shows the main features of 
the original "Michigan public school S3'stem" to be the 
following : 

1. The system, as an organic whole, included educational 
institutions of every grade, from the primary school to the 
university, controlled and supported by the State. The 
branches of the university vvere to be public secondary 
schools, occupying the place of the numerous academies and 
other private schools in the older States. In this respect 
it differed from the best systems of the older States, and 
marked a distinct step of progress in public education. In 
no one of the older systems was there a regular organic con- 
nection between elementary and higher education. In the 
new system, the doors of the secondary schools opened, on 
one side toward the elementary schools, on the other side 
toward the university. This organic connection, tempor- 
arih' broken by the necessary abandonment of the branches, 
was completely restored by the natural development of the 
public high schools. 

2. Provision was made, in anticipation, for professional 
schools, not only of law and medicin.c, l)Ut of agriculture 
and for the training of teachers, as organic parts of the 
system. The agricultural college and normal school 
were to be coordinate meml^ers of the great whole, and not 
mere appendages. 

3. The system provided better facilities for tlie education 



SUMMARY 



63 



of woiiicn "in the liigher liranches of knowledge" than were 
at that period furnished, to any considerable extent, by the 
jMildic schools of the country. The doctrine of coeducation, 
even in the primary schools, \vas not then universally ac- 
cepted ; and only a few public high schools for girls had 
been established. 

4. The system anticipated, in the near future, elementary 
schools made entirely free by public funds or by general 
taxation, and secondary and higher schools with only a 
nominal tuition fee. This was not a new feature so far as 
the elementar}- schools were concerned. Coupled with the 
idea of thg free elementary school, required attendance was 
urged by Superintendent Pierce. This has finally been 
secured, luit the proposition did not meet with universal 
a[)proval at that period. 

5. Provision was made for a State superintendent of 
Pu]:jic Instruction, who should be the official head of a 
department of education, and should have ci general super- 
vision over the entire system. In a few States an office of 
similar character had been created by the legislature; but 
]\Iichigan may properl}- claim tlie honor of being the first 
State to provide for such an office and such an officer in 
its constitution. Many other States have since followed her 
example. 

These are the main features of the original Michigan edu- 
cational system. It contains, either explicitly or implicitly, 
all the essential features of the system as it exists to-day, 
after the development of more than three-score years. 

After the passage of the act organizing the system Mr. 
Pierce wrote : "The foundation of the system was laid by 
the convention that formed the constitution. * * * * 



64 A GOOD FOUNDATION 

What remains is to carry it into successful oper- 
ation, making from time to time such modifications 
as experience shall determine to be necessary and 
desirable. /\s the great and leading object of the system 
is the general improvement of the people themselves, and 
the elevation of their children to high and useful attainments, 
respectability, and moral worth, it can scarcely fail of being 
received with favor by an enlightened public, and supported 
by the concurrent voice and cooperation of the body of the 
people, though individuals may not approve it in all its fea- 
tures. Most certainly we have laid the foundation for rais- 
ing a fabric of gigantic proportions, and great m-agnificence, 
one whose superstructure, when duly perfected by the wise 
hand and counsels of experience, can not fail of being the 
ornament and glory of Michigan in all coming time." 



CHAPTER V. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMON DISTRICT SCHOOLS. 

The original primary school law made provision only for 
the organization and support of common or elementary 
schools in districts limited in extent to nine sections of land, 
or one-fonrth of a township. Practically the districts, by 
action of the township school inspectors, generally embraced 
much less than nine sections. These schools constituted the 
basis of the educational system, and were universally re- 
garded as the most important part of it. They were called 
the "people's colleges" and the "palladium" of free insti- 
tutions, the guarantee of intelligence and virtue. 

They were close to "the homes and hearths" of the people ; 
they were, by the provisions of law, directly controlled by 
the people. They were democratic institutions. The peo- 
ple generally were extremely jealous of any proposed 
measure which appeared to limit their authority over them, 
or to remove these from their immediate control. A recog- 
nition of these facts is necessary to an understanding of the 
slow progress in the introduction of changes and improve- 
ments. 

The local machinery for the management of district af- 
fairs has undergone very little change in sixty years. The 
original district board still exists, with only some slight 
modifications in the powers and duties of its three individual 
members, and of the board as a whole. The evolution and 
improvements have been mainly in the direction of ( i ) stud- 

65 



66 STUDIES IN THE SCHOOLS 

ies and their arrangement into regnlar courses; (2) of the 
relation of these schools to other parts of the school system ; 
(3) of means of support ; and (4) of supervision. Only the 
first two points will be considered in this chapter, the others 
being reserved for examination in another connection. 

The only reference, in the original primary school law, 
to the studies which might be introduced and taught in the 
district schools, is found in the authority granted to the 
State Superintendent to make such suggestions as he deemed 
best "as to courses of study." The provision relating 
to the examination of teachers is equally indefinite. The 
examination was to be*'in regard to moral character, learn- 
ing, and ability to teach school." Directors were required 
to report the books used in their schools ; from these the 
studies pursued could be inferred. In his report for 1839 
Superintendent Pierce enumerated the studies which, in his 
judgment, should be taught in the primary schools, in addi- 
tion to the traditional branches of reading, writing, and 
arithmetic, with possibly a little of geography. Among these 
were United States and local history ; the resources, com- 
merce, productions, and industries of our own State ; civil 
government ; something of physics ; physiology so far as to 
give children some appropriate knowledge of their own 
bodies ; some instructions in relation to the intellectual, 
moral, and religious natures of man; and of our own rela- 
tions to society, to the State, and to God. The reasons for 
the introduction of these studies were given with consider- 
able fullness. The fruit of his recommendations did not 
appear until a much later period. 

The discussion of courses of study by several succeeding 
Superintendents had reference only to the union and graded 



EFFORTS OF MR. COCHRAN (^'j 

schools. No progress was made in arranging definite 
courses for the district schools under the original system of 
township supervision. During the period of county super- 
intendency from 1867 to 1875, some necessary preliminary 
work was done, but this was pretty effectually undone under 
the township superintendency which followed. In 1881 a 
county board of three school examiners was created by leg- 
islative enactment, the secretary of the board being its exec- 
utive officer. Considerable improvement was made, or at 
least begun, during the existence of this board. Superin- 
tendent V. B. Cochran, in his report for 1881, spoke with 
some enthusiasm of the new law and of the advantage which 
he anticipated from its provisions. He discussed with some 
detail the condition of the rural schools and the most serious 
defects in their management ; among these he put "the lack 
of a proper system of grading, classification, and course 
of study." He was confident that a course could be arrang- 
ed, somewhat more flexible than that of the larger schools, 
but yet adapted to the needs of the pupils and conforming to 
the natural sequence of studies. Mr. Cochran prepared such 
a course, and distributed it freely among the teachers of 
the district schools, with a program for the daily exercises, 
and earnestly invoked ''the aid of examiners, inspectors, 
school officers, and teachers to give it force and effect in the 
schools under their charge." This was the first course of 
study for the district schools recommended officially by the 
State department, and urged upon the managers of these 
schools. It may be found, with the daily program and ex- 
planations in the report of 188 1. The course was arranged 
on the supposition that the school should be divided into 
three sections, the first and second sections having each two 



68 FAILURE OF THE EFFORTS 

classes, and the third, or advanced section, only one class. 
In some exercises two classes were to be united, and in the 
third section reading and United States history were to 
alternate. In this way the classes and exercises for a day 
were reduced to twenty-two, the time given for each vary- 
ing from ten to twenty minutes. The course contained no 
striking novelties ; it provided for oral lessons in home geog- 
raphy, language, physiology, history, and civil government, 
and laid emphasis upon work of a practical nature. 

Of this course of study and the efforts to introduce it, 
one of the county secretaries said, in a paper written some 
years later : "The course deserved a better fate than was in 
store for it. It was scarcely used. No one seemed ready 
and willing to go among the teachers and explain its feasi- 
bility ; but it certainly laid a foundation for successive 
courses of study and opened up the question of the grada- 
tion of our rural schools." Mr. Cochran deserves much 
credit for his pioneer work. A considerable number of the 
county examiners became thoroughly interested in the sub- 
ject, and at their annual meetings it received earnest con- 
sideration. The general sentiment seemed to be tliat a reg- 
ular course of studies and a grading of the schools must go 
together. There was a tendency to emphasize a little too 
strongly the necessity for this union. The adoption of a 
graded course of instruction was a prerequisite to the grad- 
ing of the pupils, and would naturally lead to that, as sub- 
sequent experience proved. 

Superintendent H. R. Gass continued the work begun by 
Mr. Cochran, and published, in his report for 1883, a course 
of study, somewhat more extended than the previous one, 
embracing all the studies required for a third grade teacher's 



COUNTY SUPERVISION 69 

certificate, and fitting scholars who completed it for entrance 
to a high school. Copies of this revised course were sent 
to school officers and teachers throughout the state, and at 
the institutes the course was explained and teachers were 
urged to adopt and follow it. The county examiners gen- 
erally cooperated with the Superintendent and some little 
progress was made in its introduction. The lack of effi- 
cient and uniform county supervision was a serious and al- 
most insuperable obstacle in the way of success. Four years 
later, at a meeting of county examiners, it v/as said : "We 
are all aware that attempts have been made to provide and 
enforce a graded course of work for the country schools. 
These attempts have all come to naught." The chief reason 
assigned for this failure was the want of supervision by 
any competent officer. The feeling was well nigh universal 
that no permanent progress could be made until the same 
authority that granted certificates should exercise supervis- 
ion over the work of those who had been certificated. 
Efforts were therefore persistently put forth to secure a 
return to county supervision in some practicable form. 
These efforts resulted in the passage of an act in 1887, mak- 
ing provision for some degree of county supervision. The 
law was amended and improved in 1891, when county com- 
missioners of schools were provided for with sufficient 
authority to render their services of practical value. Under 
the new law, the work of arranging and introducing regular 
courses of study, and of securing some good degree of 
grading in the schools, was carried forward with commenda- 
ble zeal and energy and with constantly increasing success. 
In 1 888, Superintendent Estabrook published a course more 
complete than any previously issued from the State depart- 



70 ANOTHER COURSE OF STUDIES 

ment. This was received with favor by the county examin- 
ers generally, but did not meet with that hearty approval 
which was desirable. Some of the county boards prepared 
courses of their own, and there was danger of hopeless con- 
fusion from a multiplicity of varying courses in adjoining 
counties. This danger was happily averted by the joint 
action of the county secretaries, and the State Superintend- 
ent. A committee of the secretaries, with the concurrence of 
the Superintendent, drew up a course retaining the valuable 
features of previous courses, but with such modification as 
experience had suggested. This course was published by 
the State department, with a commendatory introduction 
by the Superintendent, with a tabular synopsis, a daily pro- 
gram, and with full explanations and notes upon the various 
topics. The course was divided into eight grades, each 
grade occupying a year of eight school months. The 
introduction stated that the aim in the preparation of the 
course had been, to introduce nothing new into the schools ; 
to render classification simple and easy ; to regulate the 
steps from grade to grade so as to keep pupils interested 
and prevent waste of time ; to put all the schools of a county 
on one common plan ; to make supervision stronger and 
more effective, and to enlist the interest of school officers 
and parents in what the schools were trying to do for their 
children. One list of books helpful to teachers, and another 
of books suitable for supplementary reading and school 
libraries were appended. A second edition of the course 
was published in 1892 by Superintendent Ferris S. Fitch. 
Several successive manuals and courses of study have been 
published since, each presenting some new features, and 
including additions and improvements suggested by exper- 



SOME IMPROVEMENT 71 

ience, and by the results already attained. The manual 
for 1901, the fifth edition, revised and published by Super- 
intendent Delos Fall, makes, including- the appendix and 
index, a pamphlet of 160 pages. 

Space does not permit the presentation of an epitome of 
its contents, or of the course of study so elaborately drawn 
out, explained, and illustrated. It may be regarded as the 
embodied result of the efforts thus far made to secure a 
systematic and graded course of study and instruction for 
the common district schools, and as a fairly reliable index 
of the character and extent of the work done in them both 
by pupils and teachers. Compared with the first edition 
and with the previous tentative courses, it enables one to 
estimate, with a fair degree of accuracy, the progress of 
the rural schools of the State, taken as a whole, during the 
last fifteen years. If the advance has not been all that 
could be desired, it has at least been encouraging and 
affords reason, for ex])ecting even ''better things" in the 
not remote future. 

The grading of the schools has, as a rule, kept pace with 
the introduction of the graded course of studies. Circum- 
stances have allowed the work to be more thoroughly done 
in some counties than in others, but few counties have failed 
to show some real and hopeful improvement. 

RELATION OF THE DISTRICT SCHOOLS TO OTHER 
PARTS OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

During the early years of our educational history, the dis- 
trict schools sustained no appreciable relation to other parts 
of the school system, and a very slight relation to each 



72 RELATION OF THE PARTS OF THE SYSTEM 

other, even within the same township. The books, the 
studies, the management and arrangements of each school, 
with very inconsiderable limitations, were determined by 
the school board of the district or by the wishes and whims 
of parents and pupils. Scholars, in most cases, studied 
such 1)ranches as they chose or as their parents directed, and 
used such books as the family happened to have. This state 
of affairs could be thoroughly changed only through effi- 
cient supervision accompanied by positive authority. As 
a first step, school boards were clothed with authority over 
books and studies ; but, for obvious reasons, this authority 
has been exercised very sparingly and reluctantly. Schools 
in adjoining districts, or throughout a township, could have 
been brought into such relationship that pupils might pass 
from one to another without loss of time or additional 
expense for books by the concurrent action of the boards 
of these districts ; but this was seldom or never done. A 
relation between the rural schools and die neighboring 
graded and high schools was the one most likely to come 
first into existence, not by any legislative provision, rior even 
by direct action of school boards, but by considerations of 
mutual advantage and convenience. As early as 1878 some 
efforts were being made in this direction. During a debate 
in the State Teachers' Association in that year, it was 
stated that, "A vital, though not official, relation between 
the country and the city schools may be fostered by, (i) a 
distribution of city courses of study among country teach- 
ers, (2) by influencing the pupils sent out from graded 
schools as teachers in the country schools to fit their pupils 
for the various grades of city schools." 

While efforts of this kind reached and influenced com- 



NEW RELATIONS FORMED 73 

•paratively few of the rural districts, they prepared the way 
for securing a closer voluntary relation between the country 
and the village and city schools. The regular graded course 
of studies, issued by the state department with the coopera- 
tion of the county commissioners, has gradually been intro- 
duced into a large number of the country schools. With 
the adoption of this course, many of the schools have be- 
come fairly well graded, as well as could be expected under 
existing conditions. Under a township system the work 
could be rendered more complete and also more permanent. 
In connection with the introduction of a consecutive 
course of studies, in many counties regular and somewhat 
formal examinations are made of pupils who have com- 
pleted the full course of eight grades. Diplomas are given 
to the successful candidates for examination, and graduat- 
ing exercises of various kinds are held, which are found 
to stimulate the laudable ambition of scholars, and to in- 
crease the interest of parents in the work of the schools. 
By a voluntary arrangement with school officers and teach- 
ers, pupils are admitted to the neighboring high schools 
on the presentation of these diplomas. In this way, without 
the intervention of legal enactments, a relation, practically 
organic, is formed between the rural elenientary schools 
and the secondary schools of a township or county, and 
through these secondary schools a relation is created between 
such elementary schools and the university and other higher 
institutions of learning. An approximation is thus made 
toward the ideal system of public instruction, and the ele- 
mentary common schools are greatly benefited. 

The extent of the influence of these various elements of 
progress may be inferred from the fact that, during the 



74 



RELATION TO AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



year 1900, in one county 450 pupils were examined, of. 
whom 185 received diplomas; in another county 300 were 
examined and yy received diplomas ; in another county 107 
diplomas were granted. 

The rural schools have been placed in another important 
organic relation by direct legislative enactment. In 1897 
the Legislature passed an act requiring the Superintendent 
of Public Instruction to prepare a course of study for dis- 
trict schools, to be known as "The agricultural college 
course." The course must include the studies then required 
for a third grade teacher's certificate. The completion of 
this course, evidenced by a diploma or a certificate signed 
by the county commissioner of schools, entitles a student 
to adniission to the freshman class of the college. This act 
is of importance for two reasons. It elevates the character 
of the district schools by putting them into organic legal 
relation with one of the' higher educational institutions of 
the state, and it gives the State Superintendent, for the 
first time, authority to prescribe a uniform obligatory 
course of study for these schools. Commenting on this act, 
the State Superintendent said, in his report for 1897: "I 
wish to congratulate the people of the state on the passage 
of the law recognizing a graduate from the eighth grade 
of a country school as a suitable person to be received, with- 
out further examination, to the freshman class of one of our 
state educational institutions. * ''' * This step on the 
part of our legislature seems not only consistent, but a very 
helpful one to the young people of our country schools who 
desire to enter higher institutions of learning." In view 
of this brief record of the progress of the elementary dis- 
trict schools, and of existing conditions and prospects, it 
may be said that there is reason for feeling a very moderate 
degree of satisfaction with the results already attained, and 
for indulging in more hopeful anticipations for the future. 



CHAPTER VI. 
DEVELOPMENT OF UNION AND GRADED SCHOOLS. 

In the first school law no provision was made for the 
union of districts or for the grading- of schools. These 
features could not then he anticipated or provided for. The 
older States had only just begun to consider them in a ten- 
tative way. The first suggestion by our State department 
of the probable advantages which might follow from unit- 
ing contiguous districts and grading the pupils, appears 
in the report of Superintendent Comstock for the year 1844. 
After referring to the evils resulting from the multiplication 
of small districts, he wrote: "The consolidation of dis- 
tricts in our cities and rising villages is highly desirable. 
A district thus augmented would be rendered capable of 
erecting and furnishing a building containing four rooms 
for graduated schools. The rule of graduation should have 
reference alone to degrees of scholarship. * * * * The 
graduated schools would obviate the necessity of select sem- 
inaries. The necessity of select schools is. founded in the 
imperfect character of the primary schools; elevate these, 
and the select schools will be superseded." 

"In order to enable a district to carry out a plan analogous 
to the one intimated, it will be necessary to invoke the aid 
of legislation," he said. Authority must be given to raise 
more money by taxation for buildings, apparatus, and other 
school appliances. A little of detail in tracing the develop- 
ment of the union and graded system is necessary to enable 

75 



76 CONDITION IN 1840 

the people and the teachers of today to appreciate the fact 
that the "old-fashioned" district school, controlled by local 
ofticers and sacred in the eyes of many excellent people as 
the "palladium of our free institutions," did not give place 
to the modern graded school, even in the cities and large 
villages, without a struggle. The present opposition to the 
"township unit system" reminds one of th*i similar oppo- 
sition to the early union schools. It cost much persistent 
effort to effect the transformation, and to overcome old 
prejudices and long-established habits. In the end the 
township system will come, as the union and graded sys- 
tem came. 

In the year 1840, and even later, the largest towns in the 
State were divided and sub-divided into small school dis- 
tricts, and the schools were "kept" by the ordinary teachers 
of that period. Detroit had no public schools prior to 1841, 
and for several years after that date, the city was divided 
into such small districts. In 1838 Henry Barnard was lec- 
turing in the principal cities and villages of Connecticut 
on the advantages of graded schools and explaining the 
nature of these schools. The establishment of the graded 
system in that State was attended with great difficulties, 
and went on very slowly. A few such schools were organ- 
ized in New York as early as 1840. In 1855 Ohio had 
nearly a hundred and fifty of them and public sentiment 
was becoming strong in their favor. The leading educa- 
tors of Michigan, as indicated by the language of Mr. 
Comstock in 1844, were beginning to appreciate their value, 
and the Legislature was induced to provide for a trial of 
the system. In the school code of 1846 this section ap- 
peared : "Whenever the board of inspectors of any town- 



THE FIRST STEPS TOWARD UNION 



17 



ship shall deem that the interest of any of the schools will 
be best promoted by so doing, they may form a single dis- 
trict out of any two or more districts therein, and may clas- 
sify the pupils in such districts into two or more classes, 
according to their proficiency and advancement in learning, 
and require that such pupils be taught in distinct schools or 
departments as classified by them." The union district 
could have as many houses, if necessary, and raise as much 
money by taxation, as the several districts could before 
they were united. The act was imperfect but was suffi- 
cient for a beginning. In 1849 amendments were made 
providing that in districts having one hundred scholars 
between the ages of four and eighteen, the district board 
might be enlarged by the addition of four trustees. The 
duty of grading and classifying was transferred to this 
enlarged board. It was also provided that rate bills might 
be graded according to the studies pursued, and that the 
boundaries of the districts should not be changed without 
the written consent of the district boards. 

Gradually the people of the larger villages began to take 
advantage of the provisions of the law, and during the 
years from 1846 to 1850 several union schools were estab- 
lished, and in some cases "large and commodious school 
houses" were erected. 

In his report for 1847 Superintendent Ira Mayhew de- 
voted considerable space to setting forth the peculiar advan- 
tages of graded schools. Condensed, the following were 
the chief advantages claimed : They were freely open to 
all ; they are democratic institutions, since they bring to- 
gether the children of all classes on terms of perfect equal- 
ity ; they are better than our common or the select schools, 



78 ADVANTAGES OF GRADED SCHOOLS 

because the principle of division of labor enables teachers 
to give more time and attention to individual pupils, since 
the number of classes assigned to teachers will be less and 
the recitation periods will be longer ; the courses of study 
may be more extended, and the work in them more thor- 
oughly done than in the ordinary schools : the cost of 
education will be less in union schools than in private 
select schools ; union schools are very good substitutes for 
normal schools or teachers' seminaries, and will accomplish 
much in the improvement of the teachers of the common 
schools ; the discipline and government of union graded 
schools are better than in select schools for obvious reasons. 

Arguments to prove the advantages of graded schools 
seem an absurd waste of time and patience in the year 1900 ; 
they were absolutely necessary in the year 1847, ^"<^ even 
later. In his report for the next year Mr. Mayhew states 
that union schools were fast gaining the confidence of the 
public ; were generally surpassing the expectations of their 
founders ; and he adds, they "may be made to constitute 
a connecting link between the ordinary common school and 
the State university." 

Naturally, at first, the union schools were urged as the 
best means for supplying educational needs of the immediate 
localities in which they were situated. The idea of the 
"connecting link" was not emphasized and would not have 
been an effective argument with the people generally at 
that time. At a little later period it had proper influence. 

For a few years the reports from the newly organized 
graded schools were irregular and incomplete. Hence it 
is impossible to trace their development with any large 
degree of accuracy. In 1857, in response to a circular sent 



REPORTS FROM UNION SCHOOLS 79 

out by Superintendent Gregory, reports of considerable full- 
ness were received from twenty-seven of these schools. 
The presumption is that nearly all the completely organized 
schools made reports. The following is a list of those 
established before i860, so far as known : Flint, 1846 ; 
Jonesville and Battle Creek, 1847; Grand Rapids, 1848; 
Adrian, Port Huron, and Ypsilanti, 1849 5 Tecumseh and 
Lansing, 1852 ; Cold water, Eaton Rapids, Plymouth, and 
East Saginaw, 1853; Bay City, 1854; Sturgis, 1855; Ann 
Arbor, Dexter, and Niles, 1856; Cassopolis, and Dowagiac, 
1857; Fenton, and St. Clair, 1858; Charlotte, Clinton, Kal- 
amazoo, and Monroe, 1859. After i860 organization went 
on more rapidly, although in not a few cases against strong 
opposition. Most of the schools named above reported 
high school departments of varying degrees of excellence. 
The best organized and equipped were those of Adrian, 
Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Coldwater, Jonesville, Kalama- 
zoo, Monroe, and Ypsilanti. In i860 Detroit reported a 
high school with a single teacher and an average attendance 
of thirty-seven pupils. 

The State Teachers Association, in 1854, resolved that : 
"we hail the establishment of union schools as a great im- 
provement in educational machinery." Today such a reso- 
lution would be regarded much as one would be which 
affirmed that sunshine and rain are great blessings, and 
books and libraries are of much service. In the year 1854 
the resolution was needed and was the natural outcome of 
an earnest desire to influence public sentiment. This senti- 
ment was still divided and in many localities the opposition 
to graded schools w^as very pronounced and active, even 
their warmest advocates were not entirely confident of 



8o INQUIRIES AS TO RESULTS 

their success and permanency. It was feared by not a 
few real friends of educational progress that the bringing 
together, upon the same grounds and into the same build- 
ings, of large numbers of children of different ages and 
of varying characters, would be attended by dangers and 
evils of a grave nature. It was feared that the morals of 
the better class of pupils would suffer serious harm, and 
that proper discipline and good government could be main- 
tained only with extreme difficulty, if at all. 

To obtain information upon these and other points. Super- 
intendent Mayhew issued, in the year 1857, a circular to 
the officers of union schools, asking definite answers to 
twelve questions. In 1859, Superintendent Gregory sent 
out a similar circular, requesting replies to eighteen care- 
fully prepared inquiries. Among the questions in these 
circulars were these : "Do advantages or disadvantages 
result from the co-education of the sexes ; has the congre- 
gation of large numbers of children seriously increased the 
disorders in school government or been the occasion of 
immorality ; if the school has at any period failed of suc- 
cess, to what was the failure to be attributed ; what has 
been the general influence of the system of union schools on 
the attendance of the children at school, both as to the num- 
ber in attendance and their regularity, and upon the gen- 
eral progress in study ; what is the general estimation in 
which the school is held among the people, and how does 
this compare with the interest felt in the primary schools 
in your section of the State." 

Generally the replies to these inquiries were decidedly 
favorable to the union and graded system. There had been 
some partial failures, due, it is said, to unfavorable local 



ADVANTAGES OF GRADED SCHOOLS 8l 

conditions. The gathering of large numbers of children 
upon the same grounds had not proved detrimental to mor- 
als, although it had imposed extra care and watchfulness 
upon teachers. Nearly all the union schools had been made 
free to resident pupils by the voluntary action of the voters 
in the districts. In a few cases tuition fees were charged 
for some of the advanced studies in the high school depart- 
ments. For several successive years the State reports de- 
voted considerable space to the discussion of the advantages 
offered by these schools and to reports as to their conditions 
and progress. 

Reference has already been made to the summary of the 
advantages of graded schools made by Mr. Mayhew. To 
impress these more thoroughly upon the people, Mr. Greg- 
ory in his report for 1861, gave an extended recapitulation 
of the benefits to be expected from them. His main points 
were the following: "They economize the time of teach- 
ers ; the teaching is better ; pupils are more thoroughly in- 
structed, and make more rapid progress ; each class receives 
Its due share of time and attention ; all school arrangements 
can be better adapted to the age and capacities of different 
classes of pupils; a much larger number of pupils will be 
able to pursue advanced studies without increasing their 
stay in school ; they afford special facilities for teaching the 
higher branches of study and thus serve as secondary 
schools ; the high school grades stimulate pupils in the lower 
grades; they offer the advantages of higher education to 
all children, without regard to parentage or wealth; they 
make it possible to have longer terms of school, better build- 
ings and a better supply of apparatus, and other means of 
instruction; they secure a better class of teachers, and by 



82 IMPROVEMENT IN THE LAW 

bringing more teachers together, furnish a stimuhis for im- 
provement on their part ; they can be better and more easily 
governed ; the animating and inspiring influence of large 
numbers in the same school is of great value ; the character 
of the school boards will be improved by the larger inter- 
ests involved in the school ; the people generally will have 
a higher regard for education ; thorough supervision of all 
the schools will be made practicable ; and finally the graded 
school is the most economical and most efficient form of 
school yet discovered." The educational history of the 
State during nearly half a century enables one to decide 
whether the advantages claimed for graded schools have 
been realized. 

The provisions of the school law relating to graded 
schools, were gradually modified and improved, as exper- 
ience suggested. An act of 1859 authorized any single dis- 
trict, or any district formed by the union of two or more 
districts, containing more than two hundred children of 
school age, to elect a district board of six trustees, some 
years later made five. This board was authorized to grade 
the school, employ all necessary teachers, fix rates of tui- 
tion for non-resident scholars, establish a high school when 
directed to do so by vote of the district, and to make all 
necessary rules and regulations for the management of the 
school. Tuition could be charged in the high school to 
resident pupils, or the district could make the school free 
in all grades to residents, and raise by tax the funds needed 
for the support of the schools. 

The main features of this law have remained without 
essential changes to the present time. The nuniber of 
children necessary for the organization of a graded school 



THE TOWNSHIP DISTRICT 83 

was soon after changed from two to one hundred. By sub- 
sequent legislation the powers of the school board have been 
slightly modified and enlarged. 

The growth of the union graded schools, by decades dur- 
ing the half century, has been as follows : In the year 1850 
there were 7; i860, 85;* 1870, 248;* 1880, 389; 1890, 513; 
1900, 711. 

The township school district is a natural outgrowth of 
the union district ; it is simply the union of all the districts 
of a township, managed by a township school board, and 
supported by a township tax. 

Prior to 1891 eight such districts had been organized by 
special acts of the Legislature. In that year a general law 
was enacted, allowing any township in the Upper Penin- 
sula, to organize itself into a single district. In 1893 there 
were 67 township districts; in 1898, 115; in 1900, 119. It 
has been impossible up to this time to secure the passage of 
a general law for the establishment of township districts in 
the Lower Peninsula. It is, however, only a question of 
a little time, as the organization of "rural high schools," 
which have been provided for, can be effectually secured 
only by township action. At no distant day the benefits of 
the graded system will be extended to the people of the 
whole State. With this will come the era of good roads 
and the free transportation of pupils wherever such trans- 
portation is desirable. The day of the old-time, isolated, 
ungraded district school has nearly passed. 



'Report of 1880, p. 334. 



CHAPTER VII. 
SECONDARY EDUCATION.— THE HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Under the Territorial government secondary education, 
including preparation for higher education, was to be pro- 
vided through schools established and controlled by the 
University. The first constitution of the State, in eflfect, 
continued this method by providing for the establishment 
of branches of the University. Upon certain conditions 
the Regents of the University and the Superintendent of 
public instruction were authorized, by legislative enact- 
ment, to organize branches in the various counties. These 
schools were to serve a three-fold purpose, provide for local 
needs, fit students for the University, and prepare teachers 
for the primary schools. This last function will be touched 
upon in another connection. 

Branches were established at Pontiac, Monroe, Niles, 
Tecumseh, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Romeo, and White Pigeon. 
The school at Ann Arbor was spoken of sometimes as a 
branch and sometimes as a preparatory department of the 
University. Institutions, sometimes called branches, were 
located at Mackinac, Jackson, Utica, Cold water, and Ypsi- 
lanti, but no appropriations were made by the regents for 
the support of these. Departments for young ladies were 
connected with the branches at INIonroe, Niles, Tecumseh, 
White Pigeon, Romeo, and Kalamazoo, but generally only 
English studies were taught in these departments. The 

^ 84 



WHY THE BRANCHES FAILED 85 

branches had uncertain and intermittent hves, and after 
1849 the regents made no appropriations for them. 

It has been customary, in some quarters, to cast ridicule 
upon this scheme for estabHshing branches of the Univer- 
sity as secondary and preparatory schools, and to regard 
it as one of the vagaries of an over-excited imagination. 
It requires no extraordinary powers of prevision to proph- 
esy after the event. The plan soon proved to be impracti- 
cable at that time, and in the form proposed. It exists, 
however, at this time, in all its essential features, through 
the affiliation of the high schools with the University. 

Superintendent Pierce and his immediate successors 
attached great importance to the branches, seemed indeed 
to consider these schools as absolutely necessary to the unity 
and efficiency of the public educational system of the State 
as a whole. 

When it became evident that they could not be sustained 
from the University funds, nor from local contributions or 
local taxation, Mr. Pierce urged that, since one of their 
purposes was the preparation of teachers for the primary 
schools, it would be ''just and right" that a portion of the 
income from the primary school fund should be appropri- 
ated for their support. He urged also that some part of 
the proceeds of the "Salt Spring" lands should be devoted 
to this object. Neither of these recommendations was con- 
sidered favorably by the Legislature, and the branches were 
left to their fate. Some of them were transformed into 
private schools ; others ceased to exist. The plan of provid- 
ing public secondary education by means of branches of 
the University proved a failure, not because it was, in itself, 
chimerical, but because the educational resources and edu- 



86 ESTIMATION PUT UPON THE BRANCHES 

cational sentiment of the State were not sufficiently devel- 
oped to make it successful. 

The estimation put upon the branches is indicated by 
numerous official utterances, of which only a few can be 
quoted. A legislative committee in 1840 said: "If the sys- 
tem is carried out as commenced, the Regents will command 
the services of the ablest men in the country to conduct 
these branches. In other States, the preparation for col- 
lege is left to voluntary, independent academies, no two fol- 
lowing the same course of instruction, nor preparing stu- 
dents for any institution in particular. >i= * * * Mich- 
igan, by putting the branches on the footing of permanence 
and respectability with the University, and by enforcing 
uniformity of studies, has the advantage of having the best 
things taught, and from first to last, taught in the best 
manner." In 1851 the State Superintendent said: ''No 
misfortune has ever occurred to this institution (The Uni- 
versity) equal in extent to that which has grown out of that 
system of policy which has permitted, or rendered necessary, 
perhaps, the abandonment of branches ; and it would seem 
to be of the first importance, if the means of the institution 
will permit the outlay of a large amount of capital for any 
purpose, that it should be directed into this channel. It is 
the settled judgment of this department that so soon, at least, 
as the debt (upon the University fund) is extinguished, 
further eftort and renewed exertion should be made, that 
the University may represent itself in the different sections 
of the State through its branches." The public sentiment 
of the State favored the establishment of branches even at 
the risk of abandoning the central institution itself. A 
legislative act of 1851 prohibited the regents from erecting 



SUPPLY OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 87 

additional buildings on the University grounds until one 
branch had been organized in each judicial district, and gave 
them authority to adopt as a branch, under certain limita- 
tions, any chartered literary institution in the State. A 
fortunate judicial decision relieved the regents from the 
dilemma in which this action of the Legislature had placed 
them ; but destroyed the last hope of providing for second- 
ary education through the branches. 

After the final abandonment of the branches, secondary 
education was left for some years, to be furnished mainly 
by private schools and by denominational academies and 
"institutes," at that period a favorite name for schools of 
secondary work. Several of these institutions still exist 
in changed form, having been developed into colleges, or 
transformed into public high schools. Among these sur- 
vivals are the Kalamazoo Literary Institute, now Kalama- 
zoo College ; Olivet Collegiate Institute, now Olivet Col- 
lege ; Raisin Institute, now Raisin Valley Seminary ; Spring 
.Arbor Seminary, now become, by a series of changes, Albion 
College ; Y^psilanti Seminary, now Ypsilanti High School ; 
and an Academy, which by removal and transformation has 
become Hillsdale College. 

The need of good secondary and preparatory schools be- 
came so urgent that propositions were made to grant State 
aid, upon some carefully prescribed conditions, to some of 
the private and chartered institutions. Superintendent Sher- 
man thought "the proceeds of the principal arising from the 
sale of Swamp Lands" might wisely be applied to this pur- 
pose. Superintendent Mayhew, in his report for 1855-56, 
wrote : "It is respectfully submitted whether justice to 
this class of institutions, and a due regard to the interests 



88 AID ASKED FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS 

of sound learning and general education in the State, do 
not require the Legislature to make some suitable provision 
for their encouragement. * * "^^ "^ The amount of assist- 
ance rendered them might be equitably arranged, having 
reference to the number of scholars in attendance upon 
them that are prepared to pursue — and are actually pur- 
suing — an advanced course of scientific and classical study, 
such as is requisite for admission to the State University, 
and to the colleges of our country." Various efforts were 
made, during several successive years, to obtain legislative 
action in the direction suggested, but every effort ended in 
failure. No secondary schools were established or efficient- 
ly aided by direct legislation. The natural and progressive 
development of the graded school system gave to the State, 
after some years of experimenting, by the voluntary action 
of local communities, an adequate number of public second- 
ary and preparatory institutions of high character. This 
result was not attained, however, without some severe 
struggles. 

HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENTS. 

The statute of 1859 gave the voters in graded school dis- 
tricts authority to establish high schools and to provide for 
their support by taxation. If the graded schools were to 
serve as the "connecting link" between the primary schools 
and the University or the college, and thus give unity to 
the public school system, such departments were an abso- 
lute necessity. This was universally admitted, and the 
authority to support these departments by public funds 
was not, at that time, very seriously questioned ; though 



SUPPORT OF HIGH SCHOOLS 89 

there were, from the first, even among the most intelligent 
citizens, many who doubted and a few who denied the 
right of a district to use the proceeds of the primary school 
fund to support high schools. A very few went further 
and questioned the right to levy and collect a tax to pay 
for instruction in the higher branches, especially in the 
ancient languages, or to pay the salary of a general super- 
intendent of schools. The questions then raised were vital. 
Until they were settled by some competent tribunal the pub- 
lic high school could not be regarded as a permanent insti- 
tution. Its life was in constant danger, and public opinion 
must continue in a condition of unstable equilibrium. The 
actual state of affairs was stated in a paper, read before the 
State Teachers' Association in 1872, by city sperintendent 
W. S. Perry, as follows : "To any close observer of edu- 
cational movements, it must be evident that our graded 
schools, in respect to the proper position, scope, and func- 
tion of the high school, have reached an historical crisis. 
Considerations of economy, the purpose and relative value 
of secondary education, and the. admission to the Univer- 
sity of graduates from some of our high schools, are forcing 
the high school question into fresh prominence and to new 
decisions, if not to new departures. * '•' '•' * Our union 
schools have, indeed, been the glory of our school system. 
The high school, however, has not been a great success. 
Quite generally it has struggled against both natural difficul- 
ties and malignant enemies. In a few schools it has fought 
its way to recognition and public confidence. In many it 
holds a fitful existence by a precarious tenure. The ques- 
tion now is, what shall be done with it?" 

In his report for 1872, Superintendent Hosford said: 



90 CLAIMS AS TO HIGH SCHOOLS 

''No little excitement has arisen in some places from the 
discussion of the question of the legality of public high 
schools. The claim has been made that this department 
formed no part of the school system recognized by law, and 
that all taxes imposed to raise money to sustain these schools 
were illegal. It is claimed to be unjust to sustain such a 
school. The law contemplated that such schools should 
be self-supporting by charge of tuition. The law merely 
provides that every child shall be educated up to a certain 
point, but it makes no provision by taxation for giving 
instruction beyond the ordinary English branches, and the 
school boards exceed their powers in providing for high 
schools at public expense. It is also contended that these 
boards have no right to employ superintendents and pay 
them from the public money. * * * * If these state- 
ments were mere rumors or complaints made by thought- 
less men, who were dissatisfied with the tax they have to 
pay, they would not be worthy of the least notice ; but since 
they come from men of character and standing, who have 
reputations as lawyers, and who profess to have given the 
subject careful consideration, I have deemed it best to call 
the attention of the Legislature to the subject. * * * * 
All must see that it is a question vital to the interests of 
our schools, and indeed to the whole school system. To 
attempt to make the high school departments self-sustain- 
ing by charging tuition would be to abolish them. Our 
graded schools, without the high school, would soon fall 
back to the condition of the district schools, and the whole 
system would be shorn of its unity and glory." 

It became of the highest importance to the interests of 
education in the State that the question of the right of 



THE KALAMAZOO CASE 91 

school boards to establish and provide by taxation for the 
support of high schools, should be authoritatively settled. 
In order to secure a decision from the courts upon this 
matter, Hon. Charles E. Stuart, an ex-United States sen- 
ator, a citizen of Kalamazoo, commenced a suit in the cir- 
cuit court of that judicial district. The proceedings, for 
that reason, are commonly spoken of as the "Kalamazoo 
case." The judge of that circuit delivered a carefully pre- 
pared opinion sustaining the right of a school district to 
establish a high school, and to impose taxes and use public 
school funds for its support. The case went, as was expect- 
ed by all parties, to the State Supreme court for final decis- 
ion. The decision was rendered in July, 1874, being written 
by Justice T. M. Cooley. His statement of the case is so 
clear and definite that I copy a portion of the introduction 
for the purpose of showing the vital importance not only 
to the high schools and to secondary education, but to our 
educational system as a whole, of this deliverance of the 
highest judicial authority of the State. He said: "The 
bill in this case is filed to restrain the collection of such por- 
tion of the school taxes assessed against complainants for 
the year 1872, as have been voted for the support of the 
high school in that village, and for the payment of the sal- 
ary of the superintendent. While nominally this is the end 
sought, the real purpose of this is wider and vastly more 
comprehensive than this brief statement would indicate, 
inasmuch as it seeks a judicial determination of the right 
of school authorities, in what are called union school dis- 
tricts of the State, to levy taxes upon the general public for 
the support of what, in this State, are known as high schools, 
and to make free, by such taxation, the instruction of child- 



92 THE DECISION BY JUSTICE COOLEY 

ren in other languages than the EngHsh. The bill is con- 
sequently of no small interest to all the people of the State ; 
and to a large number of very flourishing schools it is of 
the very highest interest as their prosperity and usefulness 
depend upon the method in which they are supported, so 
that a blow at this method seems a blow at the schools them- 
selves. It can never be unimportant to know that taxation, 
even for the most useful purpose, is warranted by the strict 
letter of the law, and whoever doubts its being so in any 
particular case, may well be justified by his doubts, in ask- 
ing a legal investigation, that if errors or defects in the law 
are found to exist, there may be a review of the subject 
in legislation, and the whole matter be settled on legal 
grounds, in such manner and on such principles as the pub- 
lic will may indicate, and the Legislature may prescribe." 

After this full statement of the issues involved, the opin- 
ion goes on to consider the provisions of the school law 
applicable to the case, and the general character of the legis- 
lation upon the subject of education and schools from the 
earliest territorial period, as indicating 'the intention and 
the opinions of the men, who have been charged with the 
administration of the government, in respect to the extent 
and range of the studies which might be taught in the 
public schools. In conclusion it was said : *'If these facts 
do not demonstrate a general State policy beginning in 1817 
and continuing until after the adoption of our present con- 
stitution, in the direction of free schools, in which educa- 
tion, and, at their option, the elements of classical education, 
might be brought within the reach of all the children in 
the State, then it seems to us nothing can demonstrate it. 
Neither in our State policy, in our constitution, or in our 



PRESENT POSITION OF HIGH SCHOOLS 93 

laws, do we find the primary school districts restricted in 
the branches of Knowledge which their officers may cause 
to be taught, or the grade of instruction that may be given, 
if their voters consent, in regular form, to bear the expense 
and raise the taxes for the purpose." 

The decision of the circuit judge was sustained, and the 
vexed questions were finally settled. It was determined that 
henceforth a high school, established by the votes of the 
people of a district in due form, had a legal and rightful 
existence, and might be supported by public funds and by 
direct taxation. 

It is germane to add that no law of the State requires any 
district to organize and support a high school. Such schools 
are obviously necessary to the completeness, unity, and effi- 
ciency of our educational system ; but they are dependent 
for their organization and continued existence upon the 
good-will and voluntary action of the people in the districts 
where they are located. Thus far this foundation has prov- 
ed sufficient for their support ; but it is not difficult to imag- 
ine an unexpected change in popular sentiment, or a sudden 
revulsion in feeling, which should sweep them entirely away 
in some localities, or should so cripple them as to render 
them of little value. It would seem the part of wisdom to 
guard against the possibility of such a disaster by a provis- 
ion of law, requiring cities and towns with a certain popu- 
lation to provide for the support of high schools, allowing 
the grade of the schools to depend upon the number of in- 
habitants and the resources of the community. 

Since the judicial decision, giving them a legal position 
in the public school system, the growth and development of 
the high schools have been as rapid as the conditions of 



94 INCREASE OF HIGH SCHOOLS 

local communities required. The increase in number, by 
decades, is indicated by the figures following: 1857, 7 5 
i860, 45; 1870, 107; 1880, 182; .1890, 278; 1900, 389. It 
will be remembered that these schools are nf several grades, 
and vary considerably in the extent of their courses of in- 
structions ; in respect to apparatus, libraries, number of 
teachers, and other requisites for efficient and thorough 
school work. The fact is generally recognized that the 
primary function of the high schools is to supply the local 
demand for secondary education. In addition to this func- 
tion, the larger and best developed and equipped serve as 
the necessary "connecting link" between the elementary 
schools and the University and other institutions of advanc- 
ed education in the State, thus giving unity and complete- 
ness to the State educational system. 

The semi-organic relation between the high schools and 
the rural primary schools has been described in a previous 
chapter. Their connection with the University and other 
institutions of higher learning, requires a few words of ex- 
planation. 

AFFILIATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY, ETC. 

The first official action towards an affiliation of the high 
schools with the University, was suggested by acting Presi- 
dent Frieze in his report for 1870. He said : "The high 
schools of the State, in general, are yearly coming into 
more intimate relations to the University, and sending in- 
creasing numbers to its halls. If L"^niversity and local school 
authorities shall cooperate in elevating and multiplying 
their courses of study, and in arranging them as parts and 
grades of a connected and progressive system, it will mani- 



AFFILIATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY 



95 



festly be but the work of time to bring up the best and most 
enterprising of these seminaries to the position of gymnasi- 
ums. Many of them have already expressed themselves 
more than ready to carry into effect all the improvements 
which may be recommended in the preparatory courses, 
whether in ancient languages, in modern languages, or in 
scientific studies. As a means of strengthening, consolidat- 
ing and elevating the whole State system, some of our best 
educators, both in the local schools and in the University, 
have proposed that a commission of examiners from the 
Academic Faculty should visit annually such schools as 
may desire it, and give certificates to those pupils who may 
be successful in their examinations, entitling them to ad- 
mission, without further examinations to the University." 
In his report for the next year. President Frieze stated that, 
at the request of the school boards and Superintendents, 
committees of the Faculty had visited and made examina- 
tions in the schools of Adrian, Ann Arbor, Flint, and Jack- 
son, and spoke with something of enthusiasm of the results 
anticipated from such visits. 

In 1872 President Angell, who had just entered upon his 
official duties in the University, said : "It is with great 
pleasure that I refer to the first year's experience in form- 
ing a quasi organic connection between the University and 
the high schools." During the past year, he stated, fifty 
Freshmen had been admitted to the University on certifi- 
cates from the high schools. Of these 28 came from the 
Ann Arbor school ; 8 from Flint ; 7 from Jackson ; 3 from 
Detroit ; 3 from Kalamazoo ; and i from Adrian. These 
details are recorded to show the modest and tentative be- 
ginnings out of which the present condition has grown. 



96 INCREASE IN AFFILIATED SCHOOLS 

The next year the President expressed his satisfaction 
with the results of the experiment which had then been tried 
for two years. Nine schools had been placed upon the 
approved list after careful examination. Forty students 
had been admitted without examinations the previous year 
from six schools. His conclusion was that "we are certainly 
approximating towards a more substantial unity in our 
public system of education than any other State in the 
Union." 

In 1876 President Angell, in his report, said: "We have, 
until this year, declined to approve any school which was 
not so organized and equipped as to be able to prepare stu- 
dents simultaneously for all our undergraduate courses. 
But we now propose to approve any good high school, which 
can show that it is thoroughly preparing students for any 
one of our classes. It seems better that a school should 
be encouraged to train students well in one or two courses 
than by undertaking more than it can do successfully, to fail 
in doing any of its work well." This was an important 
step so far as the development of the high schools was con- 
cerned, as the stimulating influence of affiliation was more 
widely extended. During the years from 1872 to 1880 the 
increase in the number of affiliated schools and in the num- 
ber of diploma students was comparatively slow only six- 
teen schools having been placed upon the approved list, and 
the average number of diploma students received annually 
during this period being fifty-seven and a small fraction. 
After 1880 the increase was more rapid. In 1890 the ap- 
proved high schools numbered 51, and the diploma students 
159. In the year 1900 the number of schools was 108, and 
of students 266. 



AFFILIATION OF HIGH SCHOOLS 97 

This relation between the University and the high schools 
has assumed such importance that the authorities of the 
University have recently designated one of the Professors 
officially as "Inspector of Schools." 

The influence of affiliation in elevating the general char- 
acter of the high schools, and in enlarging and extending 
the courses of study, is considered in another connection. 

The affiliation of the schools with the University was 
naturally followed by the formation of a similar union with 
the normal schools, and with the colleges of the State. The 
practice of admitting graduates of the high schools, without 
examination, to the normal school at Ypsilanti, began, in 
a tentative way, as early as 1874. The list of affiliated 
schools, including a few private institutions, in 1900, num- 
bered 139; and the number of students admitted on diplo- 
mas was 389. This semi-organic connection between these 
secondary and preparatory schools and the higher educa- 
tional institutions of the State, has proved of great mutual 
advantage, besides giving to the public school system, as 
a whole, a practical organic unity. The dream of "Father 
Pierce" has come to be a substantial reality, and Michigan 
has a system of free public secondary education amply suffi- 
cient to supply all reasonable demands. 



CHAPTER VIIL 
DEVELOPMENT OF COURSES OF STUDIES. 

The extent and character of the studies and instructions 
in the public schools, when the State school system was 
organized have already been referred to ; and incidentally 
allusion has been made to the introduction of new studies, 
and of more advanced branches of study, made possible by 
the establishment of graded schools. The development of 
regular courses of study and the expansion of the sphere of 
instruction demand a little further consideration. 

The first extended discussion of "a course of instruction" 
for graded schools, in an official document from our State 
department, is found in Superintendent Gregory's report 
for 1 86 1. After stating certain fundamental principles 
which should guide in the selection and arrangement of 
studies, he went on to apply these in a suggested course for 
the four departments into which most of the graded schools 
were divided at the time. 

The principles enunciated were, in substance, those now 
generally accepted : Adaptation to the pupil's mental activ- 
ities ; orderly progression ; healthful influence upon charac- 
ter ; and practical usefulness. 

The course for the primary grades was given in detail, 
and included, in addition to the usual studies, systematic 
lessons on morals, object lessons, drawing, singing, and 
physical exercises or training. The "object lessons" occu- 
pied, to a considerable extent, the province of the more 

98 



MR. GREGORY'S COURSES OF STUDY 



99 



modern "nature study," and "physical training" looked 
toward the present "manual training." The moral instruc- 
tion would now be dignified by the name of ''character build- 
ing" or ethical teaching. The studies named for the high 
school were algebra, geometry, natural philosophy, botany, 
geology, chemistry, moral and mental philosophy, and an- 
cient and modern languages. He advised that students 
preparing for college should be allowed to begin Latin in 
the grammar department, thus anticipating one of. the more 
recent improvements. 

In his report for the next year, Mr. Gregory gave consid- 
erable space to the primary or common schools, the "rural" 
schools as they are now generally called. He said : "I do 
not remember to have seen any regular course of studies 
proposed for the common schools. Nor am I certain that 
any such regular course will be generally received as feas- 
ible or desirable. But it must be evident to all reflecting 
minds, that all true education must proceed by some regular 
steps, and in some natural and rational order. It can not, 
therefore, be either a useless or unimportant service to 
ofl'er some discussion of the real and relative usefulness of 
studies, and suggest some hints for the arrangement of these 
studies in a proper and natural course of study." 

So far as the district schools are concerned this discus- 
sion belongs properly in another chapter; but as it is of a 
general character, it may appropriately enough find place 
in this connection. He made the course embrace; (i) lan- 
guage, comprehending talking, reading, orthography, com- 
position and grammar ; (2) thinking, exercises and instruc- 
tion of various kinis designed to call into exercise all the 
mental powers; (3) common things, natural objects and 

LofC. 



lOO AvSSOCIATION OF CITY SUPERINTENDENTS 

everyday facts which everybody should know; (4) arith- 
metic, mental and written; (5) natural philosophy, (now 
called physics); (6) physiology; (7) geography; (8) his- 
tory; (9) vocal music; (10) writing and drawing, to give 
skill in the use of the hand with the pen and pencil ; (11) 
morals, "embracing the culture of the conscience, the affec- 
tions, moral sentiments and principles, and good behavior." 

In concluding he said : "Whatever may be thought of 
the foregoing course, it is beyond dispute that the highest 
success of our schools imperativelv demands the adoption 
of some settled plan of instruction." 

The school boards of graded districts had already ample 
authority to prescribe courses of studies for their schools, 
but such courses were usually arranged hastily and accord- 
ing to the judgment or lack of judgment of the boards and 
teachers of each school. If the courses in different schools 
were alike, the similarity was the result of accident rather 
than of design. The evils incident to this state of affairs, 
led the superintendents and teachers of the best organized 
schools to seek to secure some approximation to agreement 
in their courses. The subject was agitated occasionally in 
the State Teachers' Association, but nothing definite was 
accomplished until after the organization of the ''Associa- 
tion of City Superintendents." This body held a prelimi- 
nary meeting in December of 1866, and completed its or- 
ganization in July, 1868. Action was immediately taken, 
requesting the board of directors of the society to furnish, 
for the next meeting, a report or paper upon "A course of 
study for graded schools." It was found no easy task to 
formulate a course acceptable to all parties, owing, to a 
considerable extent, to the different conditions surrounding 



COURSE OF STUDIES ARRANGED 



lOI 



different schools; but a course was finally agreed upon, 
which may be found in the State report for 1876, accom- 
panied by an earnest recommendation of the State Super- 
intendent that it be accepted in all the schools. 

The course was arranged on the supposition that the 
graded schools should be divided into three departments, 
each department covering a period of four years. Very 
few innovations were introduced. Among these few was 
a provision for an increase of oral instruction in language 
and geography in the primary grades. United States his- 
tory found its only place in the eighth grade. Soinething 
more of Science was provided for in the high school, and a 
year of general history was introduced. Two years of either 
French or German were allowed, but no Latin or Greek was 
put into this general typical course, although several of the 
larger high schools had, at that time, special classical 
courses fitting students for the University. With the exist- 
mg conditions, it was not deemed expedient to urge the 
general introduction of the ancient languages. The adop- 
tion of this course was an important movement in the right 
direction. It aimed to secure an approach to uniformity of 
studies in the high schools of the State in place of the con- 
fusing variety hitherto prevailing. These efforts towards 
uniformity were greatly aided by the action of the authori- 
ties of the University in preparing the way for affiliation 
with that institution. The general trend of public senti- 
ment in respect to the introduction or exclusion of partic- 
ular studies was thus expressed, in the report of one of the 
city superintendents for the same year : "As it is impossi- 
ble to find a place for every branch of learning in the public 
schools, some selection must necessarily be made; and it 



I02 STUDENTS IN THE LANGUAGES 

is plain that the stiuhcs to l)e retained are those which bear 
most (Hrectly on the practical affairs of life. The greater 
part of our pupils must earn a livelihood by manual labor, 
and school instruction ought both to foster the industrial 
spirit, and at the same time supply that kind of knowledge 
\\liich can be most readily turned to practical account/' 

Kor pur[)()se of comparison, it may be of interest to note 
the number of students, in a few of the high schools, pursu- 
ing the ancient and modern languages twenty-five years 
ago. Ann Arbor, Latin 159, Greek 65, French 73, German 
26; Battle Creek, Latin 33, Greek 6, French 4, German 22; 
Coldwater, Latin 58, Greek 18, French 34, German 12; 
Grand Rapids, Latin 119, Greek 32. French and German 
were taught but the the number studying these languages 
was not reported. The other schools, in which these lan- 
guages were studied, probably had about the same relative 
numbers. Of the 79 graduates from the State Normal 
school in 1876, 13 had taken Latin, 9 Greek, and 6 both 
French and German. 

In the attempts to select and arrange studies for the 
graded schools, and especially for the high school depart- 
ments, two practical difficulties presented themselves. The 
first was the difficulty of providing courses equally well 
adapted both to the larger and the smaller schools, that is 
to schools in the cities with large numbers of pupils and 
abundant resources, and to schools in villages with compar- 
atively small numbers of pupils and limited resources. The 
other difficulty was to select courses equally adapted to 
students who were not going beyond the high school, and 
to those who were preparing for the L^niversity or the Col- 
lege. It was said, in one of the State reports : "For the 



STUDIES FOR SMALLER SCHOOLS 103 

smaller graded schools there is needed a course of study 
adapted to their peculiar field of work, and a standard of 
attainment which shall be within reach of all schools of this 
class. We must, first of all, recognize the fact that they can 
not, in many things, take their shape and pattern from the 
schools of the larger cities. Even if their field of work 
were in other respects the same, it is evident that districts 
with an enumeration of 500 children and under, can not 
maintain the same course of study and variety of grades of 
school work as are possible in larger towns. Yet the alter- 
native in nearly all our smaller village schools seems to 
be 'full twelve years' course or nothing,' and the result in 
nearly every case is nothing." The general opinion of 
those most familiar with the actual conditions in schools 
of this class, was that a ten-years' course, with the studies 
carefully selected, would be much better for these schools 
than a course of twelve years, arranged with reference to 
the possibilities of the larger schools. It was thought by 
some that the course of the first ten years of the twelve 
vears' course would meet the wants of the smaller schools. 
But a little reflection and examination showed that 
this would not be true. Some of the studies of the 
eleventh and twelfth years were desirable in the shorter 
course. A distinct course of studies, selected from the 
longer course, was necessary for schools of this class. 

The second difiiculty was that of preparing courses of 
studies equally adapted to the needs of students preparing 
for the University, or other higher institutions, and to the 
needs of those whose education ended with the secondary 
school. The report of a committee, whose authority is 
entitled to the most respectful consideration, affirmed that 



I04 NOT ONE COURSE FOR ALL STUDENTS 

no such difficulty existed ; that "every subject which is 
taught at all in a secondary school should be taught in the 
same way and to the same extent to every pupil so long as 
he pursues it, no matter what the probable destination of 
the i)upil may be, or at what point his education is to 
cease." This deliverance has not been accepted generally, 
and will not be by those acquainted with the conditions 
and needs of that large class of pupils who of necessity leave 
school even before the completion of the first half of a sec- 
ondary course of studies. Regard must be had for studies 
and instruction practically useful, and for some of those 
])ranches which are called ''information" studies. In 1894, 
in imitation of a larger organization, the State Teachers' 
Association appointed "a committee of ten" to arrange "3. 
model course of study" for graded schools and to report 
this course at the next annual meeting. This committee 
acted in connection with similar committees of the "City 
Superintendents' Association" and of the "Schoolmasters' 
Club." The joint committee subdivided itself into three 
sections, called the high school, the grammar school, and the 
primary school section. The result of the first year's work 
was a partial report, containing two detailed primary school 
courses, the one, as was stated, "typifying the New Edu- 
cation in radical form, the other representing the Old Edu- 
cation in its latest and best estate." These courses elicited 
an extended discussion, and made evident the existence of 
irreconcila1)le differences of opinion. No formal action was 
taken upon them. 

Suggested courses in language, in mathematics, and in 
United States history, for the grammar grades, were made, 
and discussed to some extent. A report from the high 



DISCUSSIONS UPON COURSES 105 

school section showed the whole amount of work recom- 
mended for four years' study, but not distributed into years 
and terms, and also a table showing the work arranged by 
years and terms into four courses named, Classical, Latin- 
scientific, Scientific, and English. The limited debate upon 
the report indicated that no consensus of opinion had been 
reached even by the committee. Finally the whole matter 
was recommitted to the original committee, with instruc- 
tions to complete their report and send it, in printed form, 
to members of the association some weeks before the next 
annual meeting, so that it might be carefully studied, and 
intelligently discussed at that time. 

The committee made no report at the meeting of the fol- 
lowing year, but a discussion, of considerable length, took 
place upon the subjects of "nature study" in all grades 
below the high school ; of introducing geometry and algebra 
into elementary courses ; and of giving place to United 
States history in every course of the high school and in 
every grade below the high school. No agreement was 
reached as to a uniform course of studies for graded and 
high schools. At the close of this protracted efifort to 
formulate a course, or courses, of studies for general use, 
the matter remained essentially as at the beginning of the 
work. The courses recommended by the committees of the 
National Educational Association have had large influence 
upon the courses adopted in the Michigan schools ; and the 
suggestions and recommendations of the authorities of the 
University have had still wider influences in certain direc- 
tions. The State Normal College has helped to introduce 
modifications and improvements into the courses of many 
of the smaller high schools. There is a general uniformity 



lo6 PROVISION FOR KINDERGARTENS 

in the studies and instruction of the larger schools, and a 
fair degree of uniformity in the work of the smaller ones, 
though there is still considerable diversity arising partly 
from local conditions and partly from the idiosyncrasies 
of school boards and teachers. Experience seems to indi- 
cate that a course of studies, the same in every detail, is 
not desirable in all the graded schools of a State in which 
the conditions and resources of some neighborhoods dififer 
so widely from those of others. While the general prin- 
ciples which should determine the selection and arrange- 
ment of studies remain the same in all places, the applica- 
tion of these principles is necessarily modified by circum- 
stances. 

In 1 89 1 an act of the Legislature authorized school 
boards to provide rooms and all necessary apparatus and 
appliances for the establishment of Kindergartens, into 
which children between the ages of four and seven should 
be admitted and instructed. About sixty Kindergartens 
had been organized under this law up to the year 1900, and 
in many other schools some Kindergarten exercises and 
instruction had been provided in the primary grades. The 
courses of instruction in these institutions are generally 
understood. Further experience will doubtless produce 
important modifications in them. 

During: the last few years courses of instruction, in 
Manual training, varying in extent and. excellence, have 
oeen introduced into several of the larger graded schools 
of the State. The State report for 1900 devoted forty 
pages to the discussion of various aspects of this subject, 
and presented the arguments in favor of its general intro- 
duction. 



COURSES IN MANUAL TRAINING 107 

No uniform course of instruction has yet been adopted. 
The most complete equipment and the most extended courses 
are found in the Hack ley school at Muskegon. Manual 
training- is compulsory in the schools of that city from the 
fifth to the tenth grade inclusive. Eight instructors are 
employed in this department under the supervision of a 
competent director. Manual training courses thus far have 
been largely experimental, and many additions, subtractions, 
modifications, and improvements may be confidently antici- 
pated within the next decade. 



CHAPTER IX. 
PROVISIONS FOR THE SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS. 

In this chapter we shall consider only the provisions for 
the payment of teachers' wages and for other necessary 
current expenses of school administration, and not provis- 
ions for erecting- buildings and for furnishing other per- 
manent school appliances and conveniences. Funds for the 
payment of teachers and for other expenses of administra- 
tion are derived (i) from the State, (2) from the township, 
and (3) from the district, village, or city in which the 
school is located. 

I. Prom the State. The State holds in trust the Pri- 
mary school fund ; the interest of which, technically known 
as the "Primary school interest fund," is apportioned and 
distributed, at first annually, later semi-annually, to the var- 
ious local school authorities, on the basis of the number of 
children of school ages in the township, district, village, or 
city. The larger part of this Primary school fund has 
been derived from the sale of the sixteenth section of land 
in each township, this section having been reserved for 
the support of common schools by Congress in the act pro- 
viding for the organization of the Territory of Michigan, 
and in the subsequent act admitting the State into the 
Union. During the territorial period these sections were 
generally taken in charge by the township authorities; the 
lands were not sold, but leased for short periods, and the 
proceeds applied to the support of schools in the township. 

108 



PRIMARY SCHOOL FUNDS 109 

Experience proved this plan of management to be unsatis- 
factory, and the act for the admission of the State very for- 
tunately committed all lands reserved for educational pur- 
poses, to the care and control of the State as trustee. Un- 
til the establishment of the Land office in 1843, these lands 
were in immediate charge of the department of public 
instruction. After various unfortunate experiments in 
loaning and investing funds, the policy was finally adopted 
of retaining the proceeds of the sale of the school lands, in 
the treasury of the State, to be used as the Legislature 
might from time to time direct, the State itself being made 
debtor for the amount to the "Primary school fund." Time 
has proved this to be a wise and satisfactory arrangement. 
This part of the fund is known as the ''Seven per cent 
fund." Its growth will be noted a little further on. 

The other and smaller portion of this fund has been de- 
rived from the proceeds of the sale of the so-called "Swamp 
Lands." In 1850 Congress donated these lands to the 
State, the amount being between five and six million acres. 
In the year 1858, the Legislature enacted that: Fifty per 
cent of all moneys heretofore received and all moneys here- 
after received from the sale of these lands, after deducting 
necessary expenses of sales, should be made a primary 
school fund, to bear interest at the rate of five per centum 
per annum. In 1887 the law was amended so that all the 
net proceeds from these lands go into this fund. Moneys 
coming from this source were known as the "five per cent 
fund." 

The following table shows the increase of the Primary 



no INCREASE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL FUNDS 
school fund by decades, and its amount in 1900. 



YEARS 


TOTAL FUND 


SEVEN % EUND 


FIVE % FUND 


1842 


$ 359.809.41 


$ 359.809.41 




i8si 


$ 811,766.36 


$ 811,766.36 


Amount first reported. 


i860 


$1,684,394.38 


$1,684,394-38 


$109,71542 (1863) 


1870 


$2,7oo.834-63 


$2,486,284.10 


$214-550.53 


1880 


$3,340,94944 


$2,979,230.11 


$361,719.33 


i8qo 


$4,563,436.12 


$3,754,226.66 


$809,209.46 


1900 


$5,054,696.03 


$4,186,192.57 


$868,503.46 



The constitution provides that "All lands, the titles to 
which shall fail from a defect of heirs, shall escheat to the 
State ; and the interest on the clear proceeds from the sales 
thereof, shall be appropriated exclusively to the support of 
primary schools." The increase of the school fund from 
this source has hardly been appreciable. 

The following table shows the increase, by periods of 
five years, in the amount of money apportioned to the school 
districts from the Primary school interest fund, and the 
sum per scholar as far as this can be ascertained. It will 
be observed that a very large increase in the amoimt dis- 
tributed took place between the years 1880 and 1890. This 
resulted from the provision of the constitution requiring 
that "All specific State taxes, except those received from 
the mining companies of the upper peninsula, should be 
applied in paying the interest upon the primary school, Uni- 
versity, and other educational funds, and the interest and 
principal of the State debt, in the order herein recited, until 
the extinguishment of the State debt, other than the amounts 
due to educational funds, when such specific taxes shall be 
added to and constitute a part of the primary school interest 



FUNDS FROM SPECIFIC TAXES 



III 



fund." The first addition to the interest fund from this 
source was made in 1881, and the apportionment per scholar 
was thereby raised from 47 cents in 1880 to $1.06 in the 
next year. The amount of surphis specific taxes transferred 
durino; several years, to this fund is indicated by the fol- 



fowing figures. 






YEARS 


AMOUNT 1 

1 


1 YEARS 
i 


AMOUNT 


i88r 
T882 
1885 


$305,395-27 
$314,044-98 
$507,892.36 


1890 
1899 
1900 


$489,393-20 

$648,857.11 
$918,898.62 



Table showing increase in apportionment from Primary 
school interest fund, and amount per scholar as far as ascer- 
tained. 



YEARS 


APPORTION m'T 


PER SCHOE. 


1 

YEARS 


APPORTION m'T 


PER SCHOL. 


1839 


$ 


20,248.96 




1865 


$ 134,634.42 


$ .48 


1840 


$ 


19,217.68 




1870 


$ 179,483.16 


$ .48 


184I 


$ 


10,789.36 




1875 


$ 217,49906 


$ -50 


1845 


$ 


22,237.34 


$ .28 


1880 


$ 226,954.60 


$ -47 


i8so $ 


42,794.44 


i> -34 


1881 


$ 533,340.49 


$1.06 


1855 


$ 


83.242.08 


S.48 


1890 


$ 848,726.76 


$1.33 


i860 


$ 


108,823.62 


$ .46 


1900 


$1,531357.45 


$2.15 



Money from this fund can be used only for the payment 
of teachers' wages. 

2. From the Township. The first school law required 
the county commissioners (now supervisors) to assess each 
year a tax upon the various townships equal to the amount 
apportioned to them from the State primary school interest 
fund. The proceeds of this tax were to be distributed to 



112 



PROCEEDS OF THE MILL TAX 



the several districts upon the same basis as the primary 
school fund. In 1841 the law was changed and the town- 
ships were authorized to raise annually by tax for school 
purposes a sum not exceeding one dollar for each child of 
school age. Two years later the law was again amended, 
and the supervisors were required withont a vote of the 
townships, to levy a tax, for the support of schools, of $25 
for the year 1843 » ^^ o"^ ^^'^^^ ^'^^^^^ upon every dollar of val- 
uation for 1844, and thereafter annually of one mill upon 
the dollar. In 185 1 and 1852 the tax was made two mills; 
from 1853 to 1858, again one mill; from 1859 ^o 1878 two 
mills, and in 1879 it was again reduced to one mill, at which 
it has since remained. For the sake of brevity this tax, 
whether of one or two mills, is known as the "mill tax." 
Although not levied by vote of the townships, it is properly 
regarded as a township tax since it is assessed, collected, 
and apportioned by township officers. Unfortunately for 
the interest of the schools as a whole, each district receives, 
in the distribution of the proceeds of this tax, just the 
amount collected in the district. The increase in the pro- 
ceeds of the mill tax is indicated by the following table. 



YEARS 


AMOUNT 


YEARS 


AMOUNT 


1842 

1845 

■ 1850 

i860 


First Report 
$ 1,120.14 
$ 5,521.67 
$ 17,957.30 
$262,130.80 


1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 


$405,111.64 

$379,757-93 
$658,305.11 
$649,012.05 



The proceeds of the mill tax are to be used for the pay- 
ment of teachers' wages and other necessary current ex- 
penses of the school ; but if a surplus remains, after a school 



DISTRICT, VILLAGE OR CITY TAXES 



113 



has been maintained at least eight months in the school 
year,. it may be appropriated "for the purpose of purchasing 
and enlarging school sites, or for building or repairing 
school-houses or for purchasing books for library, globes, 
maps and other school apparatus, or for any incidental ex- 
penses of the school." The township or city authorities 
are required to apportion to the several districts in the town- 
ship or city, in April of each year, any surplus remaining 
of the "dog tax." This money may be used for general 
school purposes. 

In township districts, since the district and the township 
are the same, all taxes levied for school purposes may prop- 
erly be regarded as township taxes. The amount of such 
taxes is determined by the qualified electors at each annual 
meeting. In case the elctors neglect or refuse to do this, 
it is to be done by the township board of education. 

5. Prom the district, village, or city. For a few^ years 
after the organization of the school system, district taxes 
were assessed and collected by the district officers, one of 
whom, at that time, was appropriately named assessor. 
These duties were soon transferred to the township officers, 
but the name assessor persisted for half a century. By the 
provisions of the original school law, a district could vote a 
tax not exceeding ninety dollars annually for teachers' 
wages and other current expenses. This provision was 
stricken out in 1840, and for a short period no direct tax 
could be voted for the support of teachers. For several 
years changes were made in the school law at nearly every 
session of the Legislature, especially in those sections re- 
lating to taxation. The revision of 1846 authorized a dis- 
trict to levy a tax, not exceeding one dollar for every scholar 



114 



MONEY FOR TEACHERS' WAGES 



in the district, for the support of tlie school. This provis- 
ion remained essentially unchanged, so far as the common 
rural schools were concerned, until the passage of the act 
in 1869, abolishing the rate bill and making the public 
schools free. Graded districts, villages, and cities could 
raise a larger amount, not being subject to this limitation. 
As the abolition of the rate bill introduced new conditions, 
it will be of interest to make note of a few items at this 
point. 

In the year 1855 there were paid for teachers' wages 
$295,231.20, of this amount $83,242.08 came from the pri- 
mary school interest fund; $83,961.30 from the mill tax; 
$83,932.84 from rate bills ; and only $44,094.98 from volun- 
tary district taxes. In i860 teachers' wages reached the 
sum of $467,286.50; of this $108,823.62 came from the pri- 
mary school fund; $262,130.80 from the mill tax; $67,484.- 
87 from rate bills ; and only $28,846.63 from district taxes. 
In 1869, in July of which year the free school law took 
effect, teachers' wages were $1,177,847.86; of which amount 
$165,690.51 came from the school fund; $323,246.12 from 
the mill tax; $94,752.55 from rate bills; and $571,564.11 
from district taxes. The great increase in the amount of 
district taxes for teachers' wages, from i860 to 1869, re- 
sulted from the large increase of graded schools, most of 
which had been made free by the spontaneous action of the 
people of the graded districts. The total amount reported 
as raised from rate bills, in the years from 1846 to 1867, 
was $1,658,414.02. The amount raised in this way from 
1836 to 1846, cannot be determined from the school reports. 
The prolonged struggle to secure free schools is described 
in another chapter. 



FUNDS FROM DISTRICT TAXES 



115 



District taxation for the support of schools, not for build- 
ings and other permanent improvements under the free 
school laws of 1869, "^^^ governed by the following provis- 
ion : "It shall be the duty of the district board to estimate 
the amount necessary to be raised, for the entire support of 
the school, including fuel and other incidental expenses, and 
for deficiencies for previous year, and * * * * make a 
written report of the amount so determined, to the super- 
visor of the township, '^ * * * and the same shall be 
levied upon the taxable property of the district, collected 
and returned in the same manner as township taxes." It 
will be noticed that this tax is not voted by the electors of 
the district. The voters, at the annual meeting, may deter- 
mine the length of time the school shall be taught, subject 
to the minimum limit imposed by the law, and this having 
been done, the district board must see that the necessary 
means are provided. Subsequent amendments have limited 
the power of the board in one particular. In districts hav- 
ing less than thirty scholars, the amount fixed upon by the 
board must not, including the other school funds, exceed 
the sum of fifty dollars a month for the period during which 
the school is to be held. It will be observed that a provision 
for fuel is especially mentioned. This is explained by the 
fact that previous to this time fuel, like tuition, had been 
furnished by a rate bill or by voluntary contribution. It 
should also be added, in justice to our predecessors, that 
the district board could remit the rate bills for tuition and 
fuel to persons in straitened circumstances, and raise the 
amount so remitted by a. tax on the district. 

The increase in the resources of the districts, not includ- 
ing loans or balances for the preceding year or other in- 



ii6 



INCREASE IN RESOURCES OF DISTRICTS 



cidental sources, by decades since 1870 is shown in the fol- 
lowing table. 

It will be noticed that tuition of non-resident pupils has 
become an item of considerable importance. 



Years 


Primary School 
Interest Fund 


Mill Tax 


District Taxes 
for All Objects 


Tuition of 
Non-Reside'ts 


1870 
1880 
T890 
1900 


$ 177,313-79 
$ 223,525-21 
$ 795,813.47 
$1,030,538.89 


$405,111.64 
$379,757-93 
$658,305.11 
$649,012.05 


$1,742,578.87 
$2,074,073-37 
$3,451,729.93 
$4,763,966.19 


$26,064.14 
$34,925-68 

$57,815-57 
$87,277-89 



The total revenue of the districts, from all sources, in 
1870 was $3,154,221.28; in 1880, $3,789,197.97; in 1890, 
$6,763,125.20; in 1900, $9,069,655.80. 



CHAPTER X. 
FREE SCHOOLS AND REQUIRED ATTENDANCE. 

From the beginning of his educational work Superintend- 
ent Pierce advocated free schools, that is, schools supported 
entirely from the income of permanent funds and by tax- 
ation in some form upon the property of the State. And 
as a natural correlative he favored compulsory attendance 
for a certain portion of the year. In both these positions 
he was a long distance in advance of the general public senti- 
ment of his day. The idea of a tuition fee was inherited 
from the territorial period, and the rate bill system was bor- 
rowed from New York. 

In his first report Mr. Pierce said: 'Xet free schools be 
established and maintained in perpetuity, and there can 
be no such thing as a permanent aristocracy in our land ; 
for the monopoly of wealth is powerless when mind is 
allowed freely to come in contact with mind. It is only by 
erecting a barrier between the rich and the poor, which can 
be done only by allowing the rich a monopoly of learning 
as well as wealth, that such an aristocracy can be estab- 
lished. The operation of the free school system has a 
powerful tendency to prevent the erection of this barrier. 
* * * * Can any plan be devised by which the princi- 
ples of knowledge and virtue may be so diffused among 
the great body of the people, as the existence and perpe- 
tuitv of our institutions require? 

117 



ii8 RIGHT OF STATE TO COMPEL ATTENDANCE 

The general impression is, that it may be done efifectually 
by a well digested system of free schools. There is no 
alternative, this being the only process by which the whole 
])opulation can be made acquainted with their rights and 
duties as citizens of our commonwealth." In speaking of 
attendance upon the schools he wrote : "It is proposed as 
a sulijcct v.orthy the greatest consideration, whether the 
State can fulfil its high obligation to itself and sufifer any 
to grow up in ignorance. It is apprehended to be the duty 
of the government to require of all persons, having the care 
(^f children, their education. And efifectually to secure the 
accomplishment of this object, they should be required to 
send them to school the constitutional proportion of the year, 
between the ages of five and seventeen. >i= * * * And 
in all this there is nothing inconsistent with the principles 
of rational lii^erty. It is merely providing for the safety 
of the State, for its health, happiness and vigorous growth. 
This duty stands on precisely the same ground as the law 
which obliges all the citizens to be enrolled and occasionally 
do military duty. It is a wise precautionary measure for 
the public security." These topics are further discussed 
in his second report : and, while he admits that primarily 
parents are responsible for the education of their children, 
he says : "It is well known this duty is neglected in innum- 
erable instances. It is hence the right of the State so far 
to interpose its paternal authority, as to give additional 
weight to this obligation, and make such provision as will 
secure the desired result." 

The Legislature was slow to respond to any suggestions 
or recommendations for making the public schools free, 
and providing for their support by either State, Township, 



FREE SCHOOLS IN DETROIT 119 

or District taxation. Public sentiment did not at that period, 
demand such action. The first important step in the direc- 
tion of free schools was taken in an act passed in 1842 rela- 
tive to public schools in Detroit. In a sketch of the public 
schools of that city, written in 1850, by D. Bethune Dufiield, 
Esq., the statement was made that, "previous to the year 
1 84 1, no such thing as a free school was known in the city 
of Detroit." Elementary education was in a most deplora- 
ble condition. There were scattered about the city twenty- 
nine schools, only one of which really deserved the name of 
school. The whole number of pupils in attendance upon 
these schools, such as they were, was only 700, in a city of 
nearly 10,000 inhabitants. The average cost of tuition was 
$17 a year for each scholar. This state of affairs, when 
fully understood, naturally aroused the attention and excite- 
ed the interest of the benevolent and public spirited citizens. 
The act just referred to was secured from the Legislature. 
This law consolidated all the districts of the city into one, 
and created "The Board of Education of the City of De- 
troit." The powers of taxation for school purposes were at 
first carefully limited, but were sufficient to make the be- 
ginning of a system of free public schools. This was the 
first provision, of an extensive character, for such schools 
in the State. A little later the establishment of the graded 
and union system gradually provided other free schools, 
but their growth was slow. Reference has been made in 
another chapter to the discussions in the constitution direct- 
ing the Legislature, within five years after the adoption of 
the constitution, to provide for a free school in every dis- 
trict of the State, for at least three months in each year. 
If the Legislature had heeded this mandate of the consti- 



I20 PUBLIC OPINION AS TO FREE SCHOOLS 

tution, Michigan would not be compelled to bear the dis- 
grace of having been one of the last States to abolish the 
"rate bill." I hit no power, save an imperative and strongly 
ex])ressed public sentiment can coerce the Legislative body 
of an American State: and public sentiment in our State 
l-clween the years 1850 and i860 was not unanimously im- 
perative in this direction. 

Tlic state of public opinion generally may be inferred 
from a debate which occurred in the State teachers' asso- 
ciation in the year 1858. At its meeting in that year a 
]:)a])er was read upon the question : "Ought our schools to 
le free?" The reader of the paper did not, on the whole, 
favor schools entirely free except under certain peculiar 
conditions. In the debate which followsd the reading, Dr. 
A. Winchell of the State University, expressed grave doubts 
of the wisdom of making the public schools generally free, 
although some of the union schools might be made so with 
advantage. He thought a great public school fund an in- 
jury rather than a benefit to the cause of education. Men, 
he said, estimated the value of a thing by its direct, obvious 
cost to them. If education costs nothing it will be esti- 
mated accordingly. 

Professor Hosford of Olivet College concurred in the 
views of Dr. Winchell. He also expressed opposition to a 
compulsory school law. Among other things he said : 
"Cheapen education to the zero point, and the masses will 
value it at zero. You will frustrate the design unless you 
compel the people to keep their children in school. What 
would our people think to see a law passed making it a 
penal ofifense to keep a child from school? It would not 
do. We may have the compulsory system, but this sys- 



SENTIMENT AMONG TEACHERS 121 

tern is totally repugnant to our institutions." At a later 
period, when Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mr. 
Hosford showed that his views had undergone a change. 
A considerable number of the members of the association, 
however, took strong ground in favor of free schools. The 
result of a vote upon the question of making the public 
schools free by direct taxation would have been doubtful 
at that time, although a resolution declaring that the rate 
bill system, in its then form, ought to be abolished was 
adopted unanimously. These excerpts have been given to 
show the divided state of public sentiment even among 
teachers and other good friends of education at that period, 
and to explain the delay of the Legislature in obeying the 
constitutional requirement. Free schools were provided for 
when the demand for them was unanimous enough and loud 
enough to be distinctly heard in the legislative halls, and 
not till then. 

A decade later the association, without an opposing voice, 
resolved, "that school rates should be abolished, and the 
funds needed to make our schools free to all should be raised 
by an impartial tax by the State." Public opinion had rip- 
ened and crystalized into a definite form, and it was heeded 
by the law-making powers. A legislative act was passed 
which took effect on the third of July, 1869, providing for 
primary schools absolutely free to all the children of the 
State. For fourteen years, upon one plea and another, the 
mandate of the fundamental law of the commonwealth had 
been disregarded. 

In dismissing this subject, it may not be digressing too 
far to present a few historical facts regarding the rate bill 
and the support of schools, borrowed from one of the Con- 



122 FACTS AS TO THE RATE BILL 

necticut school reports and copied in part into our own 
State report of 1868. The report said : "The greatest hin- 
drance to the improvement of our schools, is the rate bill; 
it is wrong in principle and mischievous in practice. It is 
alike the duty and the interest of the State to furnish sub- 
stantially equal common school privileges to the children of 
all classes. Self-protection is the right and duty of govern- 
ment. For this purpose it may maintain armies and navies. 
But cheaper, safer, every way better than forts and fleets, 
is universal education." It is unnecessary today to quote 
or repeat arguments to prove the advantages of free schools, 
but it was otherwise as late as 1863. "^^^^ reports showed 
that New York made her schools free in 1867 ; Ohio as 
early as 1853 ; Illinois never had the rate bill ; her schools 
had, from the first, been free six months in the year ; the 
schools of Indiana had also been free from their origin in 
1852. The schools of Pennsylvania were made free in 
1834. None of the New England States had a rate bill in 
1868 except Connecticut; Rhode Island had just abolished 
it ; Maine and New Hampshire always had free schools : 
the Massachusetts schools had been free for nearly two 
hundred years. Connecticut and New Jersey disputed with 
Michigan the doubtful honor of being last to make their 
schools free. New Jersey won, however, as her schools 
were not made entirely free until 187 1. 

COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE. 

The schools having been made free, and the principle hav- 
ing been accepted that the property of the State should bear 
the burden of educating the children of the State, the ques- 
tion of compulsory attendance upon the schools remained 



COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE 123 

to be considered and settled. Logically, a law demanding 
such attendance, wherever such a law was necessary, seemed 
a natural and inevitable corollary, and practically it was, in 
some cases, a necessity, if the State was to make sure of an 
adequate return for its expenditures. It was a matter of 
no little interest to note, as debates went on, the change in 
the sentiment of the teachers' association upon the subject 
since the discussion in 1858. A similar change had been 
going on among the people generally, but the consensus of 
opinion was not yet very strong nor very demonstrative. 
It was, however, strong enough to induce the Legislature 
of 1871 to pass a law entitled "An act to compel children 
to attend school." This act required all children between 
the ages of eight and fourteen, unless excused by the school 
board of the district on account of bodily or mental condi- 
tion, to be sent to a public school for a period of at least 
twelve weeks, at least six of these to be consecutive, in 
each year, unless it was shown that such children were 
properly taught at home or in private schools. Parents or 
guardians failing to comply with the provisions of the law 
were liable to a fine of five to ten dollars for the first offense, 
and of ten to twenty dollars for any subsequent oft'ense. 
The director or president of the school board of the district 
was required to see to the enforcement of the law, whenever 
complaint was made to him, under penalty of a fine of 
twenty to fifty dollars. In the report of 1872 Superintend- 
ent Hosford wrote : "The moral effect of this law was very 
manifest. Many children found their way to the school 
room, not waiting to be compelled to attend by force of law. 
The final result can only be determined by the faithfulness 
with which the law was executed. Mr. Hosford expressed 



124 LAWS FOR COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE 

the opinion that the act for compulsory attendance should 
be supplemented by a law dealing- with "incorrigible tru- 
ancy," and quoted from a recent Massachusetts report in 
confirmation of his views. The law remained without es- 
sential change until 1883. Its enforcement was generally 
very lax, and in many districts it was, "to all intents and 
purposes," a dead letter. 

A new law was enacted in 1883 which was amended in 
1885. This act was designed to remedy the defects of the 
earlier law, and to make better provision for its enforcement. 
It increased the time of required attendance to four months ; 
forbade the employment of children under fourteen years 
of age unless they had attended school the required four 
months ; made the violation of the law a misdemeanor and 
imposed a fine of five to ten dollars for the first offense, and 
not less than ten dollars for each subsequent offense. 

This act was reinforced by two other laws passed in 
1885 ; one "Regulating the employment of children," the 
other for the "Compulsory reformatory education of Juve- 
nile disorderly persons." 

The first of these laws imposed a fine of fifty dollars for 
each offense, upon any person or corporation employing a 
child under fourteen years of age in violation of the provis- 
ions of the compulsory education act, and made the chief 
of police in cities, and the supervisors in townships respon- 
sible for the enforcement of the law. The second of these 
acts authorized the establishment of ungraded schools in 
the villages and cities having a graded system of schools, 
to which certain classes of children between the ages of 
eight and sixteen, designated as "Juvenile disorderly per- 
sons," should be sent for instruction and training. Three 



LAWS AS TO ATTENDANCE 125 

classes of such children were named: (i) Habitual truants 
from any school; (2) children who were, while attending- 
any regular school, incorrigibly turbulent, disobedient, vic- 
ious or immoral in conduct; (3) children not attending any 
school, habitually frequenting streets and public places, hav- 
ing no lawful business, employment, or occupation, which 
necessarily prevented attendance at school. Provision was 
made for the appointment of truant officers whose duty it 
was to execute the law. Under this act, in extreme cases, 
juvenile disorderly persons might be sentenced to the Indus- 
trial school for boys or the Industrial home for girls. 

Another law, along the same line, was enacted in 1887, 
entitled, ''An act to prevent crime and punish truancy." 
This statute affected schools only indirectly, being designed 
to reach habitual truants, loungers, and idlers of both sexes 
who were beyond the control of their parents, and in danger 
of becoming confirmed criminals. 

The statutes in relation to compulsory education and the 
punishment of truancy were revised, and amended in a few 
points, in 1895, and were further slightly amended in 1897 
and 1901. 

The following are the most important provisions of the 
law at present. 

I. All children in the State between the a.ees of eight 
and fifteen years, and in the cities between the ages of 
seven and fifteen, are required to attend school for a period 
of at least four months in each school year. In cities, with 
a regular police force, the time is not limited to four months, 
but, under certain conditions, extends through the whole 
school year. Children who have already acquired the com- 
mon branches, or are being properly taught in private 



126 PROVISIONS OF THE LAWS 

schools, or are physically unable to attend school, are ex- 
empt from the provisions of the law. In cities, children 
over fourteen may be excused from attendance for a part 
or for the whole of the year until they are fifteen. In the 
country districts children under nine are exempt from re- 
quired attendance if the school is not within two miles of 
their homes. 

2. The school boards of all graded and township dis- 
tricts are required to appoint truant officers, and the boards 
of school districts with a population of fifty or more may 
appoint such officers. In districts where no truant officers 
are specially appointed, the chairman of the township board 
of school inspectors must perform the duties of such officers. 
In cities having a regularly organized police force, the 
police authorities, at the request of the school authorities, 
are required to detail one or more members of the police 
to perform the duties of truant officers. 

3. Teachers must be furnished with a copy of the school 
census, and must report, at the close of each month of 
school, to the truant officers the names of children on the 
census list, who have not attended school regularly during 
the preceeding month. It is then the duty of the truant 
officers to investigate all such cases, and to see that the 
provisions of the law are enforced. 

4. Parents or guardians failing to comply with the pro- 
visions of the law, are liable to a fine of not less than five 
nor more than fifty dollars, or to imprisonment for not less 
than two nor more than ninety days, or to both fine 
and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. 

While it can not be affirmed that the law is enforced in 
all the cities and districts of the State, it can be said with 



PRESENT PUBLIC SENTIMENT 127 

confidence that there is a growing demand for its proper 
enforcement; and that compulsory attendance upon a free 
school is not regarded by any considerable number of our 
people, as inconsistent with the spirit of our institutions, 
or as an infringement upon the natural rights of parents. 



CHAPTER XI. 
PREPARATION OF TEACHERS. 

Reference was made in the third chapter to the views 
expressed by Superintendent Pierce upon the importance 
of securing a supply of competent teachers for the common 
schools. A little further reference to his opinions and to 
those of his immediate successors seems desirable to make 
it clear' that the demand for teachers, especially educated 
and trained, is not of recent origin. The belief that "any- 
body could keep school" was not universal sixty years ago. 
Some of the suggestions of Mr. Pierce were impracticable, 
but they are, nevertheless, worth recalling. Among other 
things he wrote: 

''In the system which we as a State may adopt, it will be 
important to make such provision as will infallibly secure 
a sufficient number of competent teachers. It will be essen- 
tial to make teaching the business of men, and then men 
will be found to do the business of teaching. No doubt, 
as things are now, it will be thought difficult if not impos- 
sible, to find a sufficient number of persons qualified for the 
employment, or who will venture to engage in preparing 
themselves for it." 

After stating the fact that the exceedingly meager com- 
pensation given to teachers presented an obstacle in the way 
of securing desirable instructors for the common schools, 
he proceeds, "It is hence obvious that the great reason why 
there is such a deficiency in the number of qualified teachers, 

128 



WAGES OF TEACHERS 



129 



is to be found in the unwillingness on the part of the inhab- 
itants to pay such wages as to secure the services of indi- 
viduals of the required talents and quaHfications. If so, it 
is confidently believed to be within the power of the State 
to obviate the difficulty. Let teachers be paid as they ought 
to be, let them receive such compensation as will remuner- 
ate them for their services, and sufficient numbers will be 
found to fit themselves for the business of teaching. And 
to secure their employment when fitted to teach, let the pro- 
visions of the law be such that no township shall be entitled 
to any portion of the income of the public fund, which does 
not employ thoroughly educated teachers. It has been sug- 
gested that no man ought ever to be considered as qualified 
to teach a school whose time is not worth at least thirty 
dollars per month ; and that no female ought to be engaged 
in this work whose services are not worth fifteen dollars 
per month. This suggestion is certainly worthy of consid- 
eration ; and it is also worthy of consideration whether it 
will not be expedient to fix on a minimum price below which 
no teacher shall be entitled to receive aid from the avails 
of the public fund, and to provide prospectively that every 
teacher of the public schools shall have been through a reg- 
ular course of training, and shall have received from the 
academic board a diploma, setting forth his qualifications 
as a teacher." 

For the preparation of teachers he proposed that a nor- 
mal department should form an essential part of the branches 
of the University, which were to be established in such 
counties as complied with certain provisions of law. This 
department was to be open without charge to all who wished 
to prepare for teaching on condition that they should give 



I30 



SCHOOLS FOR TEACHERS 



a pledge to repav the regular tuition, in case they failed to 
teach at least three years out of four immediately after 
leaving the school. 

In his second report he again urged the necessity of mak- 
ing the branches fitting schools for teachers ; and in his 
last report, at the close of the year 1840, he said : 

''We can look to no other source for educated, well quali- 
fied and competent teachers. Without these, the primary 
schools cannot accomplish what is and ought to be expected 
of them. But without further aid than can be derived from 
the proceeds of the University fund, the branches, it is 
feared, must languish. It is, therefore, respectfully sub- 
mitted that the lands granted to the State in connection 
with the salt springs be appropriated for the support of 
said branches." 

• One may be pardoned, as he looks back over the many 
fruitless efforts of succeeding years, for feeling a sort of 
half painful regret that the magnificent scheme of ''Father 
Pierce" could not have been realized, and a dozen or twenty 
county academies and teachers' seminaries have been estab- 
lished and endowed from the proceeds of the seventy-two 
sections of salt spring lands donated by Congress to the 
State. The plan of our first Suprintendent for elevating 
teaching to the rank and dignity of a learned profession, by 
providing for the proper education of a sufficient number 
of qualified teachers, failed. The time had not yet come 
for such a consumation, however devoutly it might be 
wished. Evolution is a slow process and cannot be forced 
or even much hastened. But none the less are credit and 
honor due to the wisdom of his intentions and the earnest- 
ness of his efforts. 



GOVERNOR MASON'S OPINION 131 

It is of interest to note that the plans and efforts of the 
superintendent were seconded and supported by many of 
the other officers of the State. The first governor, Mr. 
Mason, in his message for 1837, said, 'In the organization 
of your primary schools, which are the foundation upon 
which your whole system of education must be based, the 
first measure essential to their success and good government 
is the appointment of good teachers, of the highest charac- 
ter, both moral and intellectual. Liberal salaries should be 
allowed the instructor, and without this, you may rest as- 
sured you must fail in your object; as individuals in all 
respects competent to the charge of your schools will be 
excluded from them by the parsimoniousness of their com- 
pensation." 

Superintendent Sawyer, the immediate successor of Mr. 
Pierce, had recently come from Massachusetts, and was 
acquainted with the efforts for the establishment of normal 
schools in that State. He anticipated the opening of such 
a school in Michigan at no distant period ; but until that time 
arrived, he urged that "at least one of the branches should 
make teaching a regular part of its instructions." He 
added : 

"A model school, connected with this department, would 
afford all the aid that a young man or woman would want 
to perfect him or her in the practice as well as the theory 
of teaching; and it is believed, that such a school might 
easily be kept up the whole year, in any or all the places 
where branches are in operation." 

He evidently had in mind a school in which good teaching 
might be observed, rather than the more modern ''practice 
school." 



132 



SUPERINTENDENT COMSTOCK'S VIEWS 



"Superintendent Comstock, who succeeded Mr. Sawyer 
in 1843, i" c)^'*^ ^^ ^^^^ reports, said : 

• "Eligible teachers are all-important. This fact is more 
deeply and generally impressed on the public mind than 
formerly. A new science, founded on the nature of man, 
has been ascertained and taught. It is pedagogics, or the 
science of teaching. This is a distinct and most valuable 
science. On it the successful investigation of all other 
sciences depends. Its application is the art of teaching. 
It was once imagined that almost every man of a competent 
education could teach school. But to this proposition there 
are many exceptions. It does not follow that because a 
man has received a liberal education, he is therefore a law- 
yer or a physician. With all his attainments he can be 
neither till he shall have faithfully studied one of these 
learned professions. And, by a parity of reasoning, it is 
plain that an acquaintance with general literature and science 
does not, of necessity, prepare one for the arduous but de- 
lightful business of educting the undying mind. Such a 
preparation is chiefly derived from the study of the science 
and art of teaching. Firmly persuaded of this truth, many 
of the governments of the old world and some of our sister 
States have instituted Normal Schools, in which the science 
and art of teaching are elucidated and enforced. Model 
schools are formed and taught in these institutions. Here 
candidates for the office of teacher see many beneficial 
demonstrations in reference to classification, methods of 
teaching and government ; and, in short, whatever is valua- 
ble within the range of human knowledge regarding this 
paramount interest." 

Ira Mayhew became superintendent in 1845. I* had be- 



SUPERINTENDENT MAYHEW'S VIEWS 133 

come evident by this time that no considerable supply of 
qualified teachers could be expected from the branches of 
the University, even if they continued to exist, as the reports 
for 1845 showed only thirty-six students in these schools 
taking the teacher's course. The time had come for effort 
in other directions. Mr. Mayhew had had experience of 
school work in New York, and had some knowledge of the 
gatherings of teachers in what were called institutes, and 
also of teachers' associations of a more general character. 
He made vigorous and continued efforts to secure the orga- 
nization of societies for mutual improvement among teachers 
and other friends of educational progress. A considerable 
number of such societies were formed, but they accomplished 
comparatively little, and soon ceased to exist. 

He urged also the publication of an ''Educational Jour- 
nal," under the control of the department of public instruc- 
tion, and aided by a legislative appropriation. Superintend- 
ents Pierce and Sawyer had both made some efforts in this 
direction, but with no permanent results. Little could be 
hoped for from journals of this sort in the way of improving 
the qualifications of teachers in the primary schools. 

Mr. Mayhew's next movement was in the direction of 
Teachers' Institutes. 

The teachers' institute as a means of improving the quali- 
ty of the preparation of common school teachers is now well 
known. In 1845, it was a new device. The first in. New 
York was held in 1843. In his report for 1845, Mr. May- 
hew advocated the holding of such institutes and suggested 
a liberal appropriation by the Legislature for their support. 
He writes: *'I entertain the opinion that if the State has 
$25,000 to appropriate annually for the promotion of com- 



134 TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 

mon school education, it would be productive of greater 
good to apply one or two thousand dollars, or even five 
thousand dollars, to assist in defraying the necessary ex- 
penses of maintaining teachers' institutes in the different 
counties, and the residue to the support of schools, than to 
apply the whole to the payment of unqualified teachers, or 
even to those of ordinary attainments." 

The first institute in the State, so far as can be ascer- 
tained, was held by Superintendent Mayhew at Jackson in 
October of 1846, and was attended by about thirty teachers. 
In his report for that year he says : "It should be generally 
understood that the main design of the teachers' institutes 
is to impart professional instruction ; to consider and dis- 
cuss the best means of interesting and governing children 
in our primary schools, and the most improved and success- 
ful methods of imparting instruction in the several branches 
of study ordinarily pursued therein." He suggested that 
a series of five or six institutes be held in different parts of 
the State during the year 1847, expressing the opinion that 
they would be well attended and of great value to the 
schools. 

For several years institutes were held in different parts 
of the State, the expenses being provided for by the liber- 
ality of the citizens of the localities where they were held. 
In the year 1855 the Legislature passed an act authorizing 
the State Superintendent, upon certain conditions, to ap- 
point and hold institutes in the various counties of the 
State, and making an annual appropriation of eighteen 
hundred dollars for this purpose. The institutes were to 
continue in session not less than ten working days, and not 
more than two hundred dollars could be expended upon 



TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 135 

any one institute. Under the provisions of this act from 
eight to ten institutes were usually held each year. An 
amendment to the law in 1861 allowed institutes to be held 
for five days, but reduced the amount which could be ex- 
pended for any single institute to one hundred dollars. 
From 1862 to 1867 the average number of institutes held 
annually was between eleven and twelve. Under the county 
superintendency law, enacted in 1867, many county institutes 
were held in addition to the regular State institutes, of 
which there were annually an average of twelve up to 18670 
The amount which could be drawn yearly from the State 
treasury for institute purposes had, to this time, remained 
at eighteen hundred dollars, and there were no other re- 
sources for their support. 

From 1855 to 1876 inclusive, as officially reported, 219 
State institutes were held, at an expense of $27,715, and 
with a total attendance of 19,272. This agency for improv- 
ing the qualifications of teachers had done much good work 
during nearly a quarter of a century, but had not accom- 
plished all that Mr. Mayhew and others had hoped for. 
It had reached the teachers who had most need to be im- 
proved to only a very limited extent. 

The enactment of 1877, relating to "teachers institutes'.' 
changed the aspect of affairs and introduced a new and 
more promising era. County institute funds were created 
by requiring teachers to pay examination fees, male teach- 
ers one dollar annually, and female teachers fifty cents. 
At first an institute registration fee of fifty cents was also 
required of persons who had not paid an examination fee, 
but this was soon abandoned on account of its unfavorable 
influence upon the attendance. 



136 TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 

Under the provisions of this act, the Superintendent of 
pubHc instruction was required to provide for an institute 
annually in every organized county of the State, in which 
there were not less than one thousand children of school 
ages. Counties with a smaller number of children might 
be united for institute purposes. 

If the institute fund of any county was not sufficient to 
defray the necessary expenses of the annual institute, a 
sum not exceeding sixty dollars, by a recent amendment not 
exceeding one hundred dollars, could be drawn from the 
State treasury for a five days' institute ; provided that not 
more than eighteen hundred dollars could be drawn for 
institutes in any one year. The limit has recently been 
made three thousand dollars. A special State institute 
might also be held annually, at an expense not exceeding 
four hundred dollars. 

The number of institutes has increased rapidly under this 
law; in 1880, sixty-five were held; in 1890, sixty-eight; and 
in 1900, eighty. The length of an institute is determined 
by the Superintendent, and varies from one day to twenty 
days. The exercises vary with the length and the immediate 
purpose of the institute. 

NORMAL SCHOOLS. 

SCHOOL AT YPSILANTI. 

The first State normal school in the United States was 
opened in Massachusetts in 1839. 'The New York normal 
school at Albany was established in 1844, and a normal 
school in Connecticut in 1848. Superintendents Pierce, 
Sawyer, and Comstock made reference to normal schools 



NORMA!, SCHOOLS 137 

without urging the immediate establishment of such a school. 
Superintendent Mayhew, in 1848, was not prepared to 
recommend the establishment of a normal school, believing 
that more could be accomplished for the preparation of 
teachers, at that time, by means of institutes and teachers' 
associations. 

In 1847 Mr. Pierce, then a private citizen, advocated the 
organization of a normal school to be supported by funds 
derived from the sale of Salt Spring lands. In the same 
year, Governor Ransom referred with approval to the intro- 
duction of nrormal schools as a part of the educational sys- 
tem of the State. 

Francis W. Shearman was appointed State Superintend- 
ent in 1849, and under his efficient administration the first 
Michigan State normal school was established. The orig- 
inal act providing for the school bears the date of March 
28, 1849; a supplementary act became a law three days 
later. The two acts were amended and consolidated the 
next year, and under the provisions of the consolidated act 
the school was organized. 

The passage of the original law was procured largely by 
the efforts of Hon. O. C. Comstock, former State Superin- 
tendent, who was chairman of the committee on education 
in the lower House of the Legislature. The act created a 
State Board of Education for the purpose of locating, organ- 
izing, and controlling the school. 

The statute said: ''The exclusive purpose of the school 
shall be the instruction of persons, both male and female, 
in the art of teaching, and in all the various branches that 
pertain to a good common school education. Also to give 
instruction in the mechanic arts, and in the arts of hus- 



138 NORMAL SCHOOL AT YPSILANTI 

bandry and agricultural chemistry ; in the fundamental laws 
of the United States, and in what regards the rights and 
duties of citizens." The "purpose" was broad enough to 
authorize the organization of a college of mechanics and 
agriculture with a department of ciyics attached. A policy 
based upon this clause had, for a few years, an important 
influence in the development of the institution. 

The Board selected Ypsilanti as the location of the school 
in consequence of the liberal offer made by the citizens of 
a site for the buildings, and of $13,500 in cash for building 
purposes. 

The main building, 55 x 100 feet and three stories in 
height, constructed of brick, was completed and dedicated, 
with appropriate exercises, on the fifth day of October, 1852. 

The principal address at the dedication was made by 
"Father Pierce," upon the subject, "A perfect school sys- 
tem." Naturally enough the tone of the address indicated 
an exultant state of mind in the speaker. It could hardly 
have been otherwise. A purpose which he had most ardent- 
ly cherished had been accomplished ; an institution espec- 
ially designed for the education and training of teachers for 
the common schools of the State had been established. An 
institute of four weeks followed the dedication ; but the 
regular opening of the school was deferred until the Legis- 
lature should provide means for defraying the current ex- 
penses of the institution. An appropriation having been 
obtained for this purpose, the first term commenced on 
March 29, 1853, with five teachers, one of whom, however, 
devoted only a small portion of his time to school work. 
Mr. A. S. Welch was Principal; Miss A. C. Rogers, Pre- 
ceptress ; Mr. Orson Jackson, teacher of Mathe- 



SCHOOL AT YPSILANTI I39 

matics ; Rev. J. A. Wilson, of Intellectual Philosophy ; and 
Mr. J. M. B. Sill, of English Grammar and Elocution. The 
scope of this chapter does not include an extended sketch 
of the history of the school. Its early courses of studies 
were determined by educational conditions then existing in 
the State, and the instruction was, jn the main, what would 
now be termed "academic." Changed conditions have pro- 
duced corresponding changes in the extent and character 
of the studies and instruction, and the institution has aimed 
to keep abreast with educational progress. In 1899 ^^^ ^^^ 
of the Legislature changed the name of the school to 
''Michigan State Normal College." For several years the 
number of students, completing the full course and graduat- 
ing, was very small in comparison with the total attendance. 
This resulted from the extent and nature of the single pre- 
scribed course, from the meager preparation of a majority 
of the pupils, and from the demand for teachers with even 
a very moderate professional preparation for their work. 
The first class of three graduated in 1854. The number of 
graduates during the first twenty-five years of its existence 
was 728, being an average of only about thirty per year. 
To the year 1899 the graduates had been 3347, and the year- 
ly attendance had become something over 1000. 

It was evident from the first that a single normal school, 
however largely attended or efficiently conducted, could do 
but little toward supplying the demand for qualified teachers 
in the common schools. Consequently efforts were made 
in other directions, which will be briefly referred to further 
on. 



I40 ADDITIONAL NORMAL SCHOOLS 

ADDITIONAL NORMAL SCHOOLS. 

The question of additional normal schools was occasion- 
ally discussed in teachers' associations and elsewhere, but 
public sentiment, even among teachers, was, for several 
years, divided upon the question. In 1867 the State asso- 
ciation resolved: ''That we deem it of prime importance to 
the welfare and future progress of the primary schools of 
the State that there be another normal school established, 
at an early period, in the western or northwestern portion 
of the State." At a meeting of superintendents and princi- 
pals of union schools, in the following year, the expression 
of opinion was practically unanimous in favor of establish- 
ing more normal schools, as soon as possible. Similar ex- 
pressions occurred in most of the subsequent annual meet- 
ings of the State association, but no concerted action was 
taken. 

In his report for 189 1, the Superintendent of pubHc in- 
struction took strong ground in favor of providing for at 
least one additional normal school, to be located where it 
would accommodate the people of the Upper Peninsula. 
This recommendation did not produce immediate effect, 
but served to give direction to public opinions and to pre- 
pare the way for legislative action. 

CENTRAL state: NORMAL SCHOOL AT MT. PLEASANT. 

In 1 89 1, under the leadership of Professor C. F. R. Bel- 
lows, for many years connected with the normal school at 
Ypsilanti, the citizens of Mt. Pleasant formed an association 
and established a normal school. In 1895 they offered to 
donate the buildings and grounds to the State, on condition 



NORMAL SCHOOL AT MARQUETTE 141 

that the institution should be adopted and supported as a 
State normal school. This generous offer was accepted and 
the school became the property of the State. The legisla- 
tive act accepting the school and providing for its manage- 
ment, declared its purpose to be, "the preparation and train- 
ing of persons for teaching in the several district schools 
and in the primary departments of the graded schools of 
the State," and placed it under the control of the State 
board of education. The school is doing most excellent 
service in carrying out the purpose for which it was created. 
In 1 90 1 its graduating class numbered 100, and its attend- 
ance 400. 

the: northern state normal school at MARQUETTE). 

A third school, known as the "Northern State Normal 
School," was established at Marquette in the Upper Penin- 
sula, in 1899, "for the purpose of instructing persons in 
the several branches pertaining to a public school education, 
and in the science and art of teaching the same." The site 
for the school was donated by citizens of Marquette, and 
other valuable gifts have been received from the same 
source. The attendance during the school year 1900- 190 1 
was 198, and twenty-five students completed the course for 
high school graduates. 

SYSTEM OE NORMAL SCHOOLS. 

The establishment of the Central and Northern normal 
schools led the Board of Education to adopt a plan for uni- 
fying the normal school work of the State, and to prevent 
any undue rivalry between the different schools. The plan 



142 SYSTEM OF NORMAL SCHOOLS 

provides for an officer with the official title of ''President of 
the Michigan system of Normal Schools." This officer has 
the general supervising control of the schools, with power, 
subject to the approval of the Board of Education and with 
the advice and counsel of the Principals of the several 
Schools, to prescribe courses of instruction, and to recom- 
mend persons for appointment as teachers and to dismiss 
or remove teachers for any reasonable cause. Each school 
has a principal who performs the usual duties of such an 
officer in the absence of the President and cooperates with 
the President as previously stated. The Board of Educa- 
tion is required by law ''to maintain substantial uniformity 
and reciprocity in the courses of study" in the different 
schools so that students can pass from one school to another 
without loss of time, or standing in studies. The provisions 
relating to graduation, diplomas, certificates, and degrees 
are described under the appropriate heading. 

OTHER AOe:nCIKS FOR THIJ PREPARATION OE TEACHERS. 

More than forty years elapsed after the dedication of the 
first normal school building in 1852 before another State 
normal school was established. During this period numer- 
ous plans were proposed and advocated for securing addi- 
tional facilities for the instruction and training of teachers. 
The number of institutes was increased and their character 
improved ; associations of teachers were organized, and edu- 
cational periodicals and papers were published and circu- 
lated. But the feeling was general that all these means 
were insufficient, and were only temporary make-shifts. 
The demand was for something better and more permanent. 



TEACHERS' CLASSES IN UNION SCHOOLS 143 

TKACH^RS' CLASSES IN UNION SCHOOLS. 

Superintendent Mayhew had advocated the organization 
of union schools, giving as one reason that they would serve, 
to a considerable extent, as substitutes for normal schools. 
In 1859 Superintendent Gregory, after admitting that "it 
would be futile to attempt to supply all our schools with, 
qualified teachers by means of normal schools," stated that 
many of the union schools and some of the colleges "had 
organized teachers' classes, and that some hundreds of 
teachers are annually sent forth from these classes to give 
instruction in the public schools of the State." He recom- 
mended the encouragement of this work ; suggested that 
the members of such classes be examined and certificated by 
State authority ; and that a fund be created bv the sale of 
swamp lands, or from some other source, the income of 
which should be "distributed annually to those institutions 
which should establish normal or teachers' classes, in pro- 
portion to the number of pupils who should pass satisfac- 
torily the annual examinations." In his report for i860, 
Mr. Gregory recommended that the Superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction, with the advice and consent of the Board of 
Education, be authorized to select such institutions as may 
be suitably located and otherwise adapted to the service, 
not exceeding one for each county, and prescribe a course 
of normal training and instruction for the teachers' classes 
to be taught therein." The selected schools were to receive 
compensation for the service rendered to the State in this 
way. An appropriation of $3,000, was recommended for 
use during the next two years. The Board of Education 
addressed a memorial to the Legislature fully endorsing 
the recommendation of the Superintendent, and asking an 



144 TEACHERS' CLASSES AND TRAINING SCHOOLS 

appropriation from the income of the swamp land fund. 
Mr. Gregory continued his efforts in this direction during 
the entire six years of his superintendency, going so far 
as to prepare an outline course of study for teachers' classes. 
It is hardly necessary to add that he failed to secure the de- 
sired legislation. His efforts, however, were not without 
results. For several years teachers' classes were kept up, 
during a part of the year, in many of the leading high 
schools. Superintendent Hosford, the immediate successor 
of Mr. Gregory, pursued the same policy as his predecessor, 
and with equal lack of success so far as legislation was con- 
cerned. At a later period several of the larger cities establish- 
ed normal training schools to prepare teachers for their own 
schools ; but these are local institutions having no organic 
connections with the State system. While the plan so 
earnestly advocated by Superintendent Gregory was never 
adopted by the State, the high schools have done most ex- 
cellent service in raising the standard of qualifications for 
teachers, and also in the preparation of teachers for the 
district schools in their immediate neighborhoods. 

THK SCIENCE AND ART OF TEACHING IN THE UNIVERSITY. 

While the history of higher education is outside the prov- 
ince of this work, it will be germane to our purpose to 
make a brief statement of the services rendered by the 
University and the Colleges for the direct purpose of im- 
proving the primary and secondary schools. The relations 
of the University to the high schools and its influence in 
their development have been noticed in another connection. 
These relations necessarily, though indirectly, affected the 



PEDAGOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY 



145 



character and qualifications of the teachers in these schools. 
A more direct and intimate relation with the teaching force 
seemed possible and desirable, — a relation which should 
help to give a more complete unity to the educational sys- 
tem of the State as a whole. The establishment of a de- 
partment or chair of pedagogy in the University was a sub- 
ject of frequent discussion among teachers and others for 
several years before any official action was taken in that di- 
rection by the authorities of the University. Some tenta- 
tive experiments were made. During the year i860 State 
Superintendent John M. Gregory gave a course of lectures 
before some of the classes upon practical problems of edu- 
cation which were received with much favor. In his report 
for 1873 Superintendent D. B. Briggs recommended the 
establishment of an educational department, and repeated 
his recommendation in the following year. 

President Angell, in his report for the same year, referred 
to the subject with approval, and stated that the Faculty 
had decided "to offer to the members of the graduating 
class who should, by special examinations, show special fit- 
ness for teaching certain branches, a 'Teacher's diploma,' 
signed by the President and the Professor in charge of the 
studies pursued." This appears to have been the first offi- 
cial action of the University authorities upon the subject. 
The proposed diploma had no legal significance, but was, 
nevertheless, of much value to persons seeking positions as 
teachers of special studies. 

In his report for 1878 the President suggested the ap- 
pointment of a non-resident lecturer upon Pedagogics for 
a part of the year to test the value of such instruction in the 
University. Instead of adopting this suggestion, the Boar4 



146 AIMvS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

of Regents, in June of the next year, established a depart- 
ment or chair of "The Science and Art of Teaching." The 
aim of the Regents in establishing the department was stated 
to be : ( I ) To fit University students for the higher posi- 
tions in the public school service; (2) To secure to teaching 
the rights, prerogatives, and advantages of a profession ; 
(3) To give a more perfect unity to our State educational 
system, by bringing the secondary schools into closer rela- 
tion with the University." 

Some tentative efforts had been previously made in two 
or three institutions of higher learning in other States, but 
no permanent departments or chairs had been established. 
In referring to this action of the Board of Regents, the 
United States Commissioner of Education in his report for 
1889-90 said: *'It was not until 1879 ^^^^^ ^ definite step 
was taken in the way of recognizing pedagogy as a science 
and also of recognizing the necessity of training teachers 
for schools above the elementary grade. In that year the 
University of Michigan established a chair which took the 
expressive name of the 'Science and Art of Teaching.' " 

The work of the department has been ably performed and 
has been of great service to secondary education in the 
State. The University has been peculiarly fortunate in 
the two men who have thus far filled the chair. Dr. W. 
H. Payne was appointed in 1879, when the chair was estab- 
lished, and served until 1887, when he resigned to accept 
the charge of an important educational institution in Nash- 
ville, Tennessee. Dr. B. A. Hinsdale filled the chair from 
1887 until his death in November, 1900, when Dr. Payne 
was recalled to the position. 



TEACHERS' COURSES IN COLLEGES 147 

TEACHICRS' COURSES IN THE; COI.I.KGe:S. 

As previously stated, teachers' classes were organized in 
most of the denominational Colleges of the State at an early 
period. The courses of instruction for these classes were 
of varying degrees of excellency, but were generally such 
as to be of essential advantage to the students intending to 
teach, and consequently to the public schools of the State. 
Gradually the courses were made more extended and more 
systematic; and the feeling became very strong among the 
teachers in these institutions and among their supporters 
and patrons, that the pedagogical work done in them should 
be recognized, in some appropriate way by the State. 

As a result in 1893, the Legislature passed an act, author- 
izing the Board of Education to grant teachers' certificates, 
(the character of which will be explained in another place) 
to graduates of those colleges which, in addition to the reg- 
ular four years' course, provided a course of study in the 
science and art of teaching satisfactory to the Board. Col- 
leges complying with the conditions prescribed, became 
an integral part of the State system of public instruction 
so far as the teachers' departments are concerned. Grad- 
uates of the Colleges are rendering important service to the 
Commonwealth, chiefly in the schools of secondary instruc- 
tion. 

SUMMARY OF THI5 I^ACII^ITIKS FOR THK PREPARATION OF 
TEACHERS FOR THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOES. 

1. The system of teachers' institutes. 

2. The Normal college at Ypsilanti. 

3. The normal schools at Mount Pleasant and Mar- 
quette, 



148 PROVISIONS ADEQUATE FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 

4. Department of the science and art of teaching in the 
University. 

5. Teachers' Courses in the colleges. 

It will be seen that the facilities for the preparation of 
teachers for the secondary schools are ample. It is only 
for the primary schools that any additional facilities of any 
kind are needed. 



CHAPTER XIL 

CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS AND SUPERVISION OF 
SCHOOLS. 

TOWNSHIP SCHOOL INSPECTORS. 

Under the provisions of the first School law of the State 
the township School inspectors were the examining and 
supervising board of the township. They were required 
to examine all persons proposing to teach in the public 
Schools "in regard to moral character, learning, and ability 
to teach School," and to give certificates, valid for one year, 
to those who passed a satisfactory examination. The Super- 
intendent of public instruction prescribed the form of the 
certificates which were all of one grade. The branches of 
study, in which examinations were to be made were not 
indicated at first. An early amendment of the statute made 
the certificates valid for two years, and forbade the granting 
of a certificate to any person who did not possess "a thor- 
ough and accurate knowledge of the several branches of 
study usually taught in primary schools." By implication 
this determined the extent of the examination. 

The law also directed that some member of the board of 
inspectors should visit each school in the township, at least 
once in each school year, who should "inquire into the condi- 
tion of the school, examine the scholars, and give such ad- 
vice to both teachers and pupils as he deemed necessary or 
beneficial." An amendment to the law in 1859 allowed the 
inspectors, in their discretion, to grant certificates "for a 

149 



150 



CHARACTER OF EXAMINATIONS 



term of not less than six months nor more than two years." 
This was the first movement towards grading certificates. 
No change has been made touching the studies in which 
examinations should be required, but the organization of 
graded schools, in which higher branches were taught, led 
the State Superintendent to append a note to the law say- 
ing: "Whenever the applicant proposes to teach in the 
higher departments of a graded school, or in any advanced 
primary school, he should be examined in the branches he 
will be expected to teach." 

Until the passage of the act creating the office of County 
Superintendent in 1867, all examinations of teachers of all 
grades, and all supervision of the common schools were 
made by the township boards of school inspectors. In 1857 
the graduates of the normal school had been relieved from 
the necessity of an examination, but the graduates of the 
University, if they desired to teach in the public schools, 
had to submit to an examination by the inspectors. This 
system of certification and supervision continued for thirty 
years. Of its general character Superintendent Hosford, 
in his report for 1866, wrote: "The examination, as con- 
ducted in a multitude of instances, is simply a form ; or, 
perhaps, to say that it is a mere farce, would be saying what 
is more nearly the truth, and not un frequently are certifi- 
cates given without even the form of an examination. The 
present system of examining teachers, so far as the secur- 
ing of competent instructors by it is concerned, is a com- 
plete failure, and the system of school supervision, so far 
as the improvement of the schools by it is concerned, is 
equally a failure." 



COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS 151 

COUNTY SUPERINTl^NDRNTS. 

The lack of any efficient supervision of the schools was 
recognized from the very first organization of the system, 
and efforts were begun at an early period to secure im- 
provement in that direction. The initiative in the strug- 
gle to obtain a county or legislative district superintendency, 
similar to that of New York, was taken by the State teach- 
ers' association in 1855, by the appointment of Professors 
Gregory, Welch, and Boise a committee to prepare a me- 
morial or petititon to the Legislature, praying for the estab- 
lishment of such a system. At the next meeting of the asso- 
ciation the committee reported progress, and was continued 
with the addition of two members. This committee visited 
Lansing during the session of the Legislature, consulted 
with leading members of that body, who were favorable to 
the measure, but, in view of the general sentiment then 
existing, deemed it inexpedient to attempt anything further 
at that time. Subsequently a carefully prepared circular, 
setting forth the defects of the existing system and the ad- 
vantages of the county system, was issued and extensively 
distributed throughout the State. The association contin- 
ued its efforts until they were finally crowned with success. 

The department of public instruction cooperated with the 
teachers' association, and at some periods, gave direction 
to its movements. Superintendent May hew, in 1855, rec- 
ommended a school commissioner in each senatorial dis- 
trict of the State who should examine the teachers and 
supervise the schools of his district. In his report for i860, 
Superintendent Gregory urgently advocated the county 
Superintendency, suggesting that the Superintendent should 



152 COUNTY SYSTEM ESTABLISHED 

be elected, for a lerni of two years, by tbe townsbip scbool 
insjH^ctors. He deprecatetl bis electiiMi by popular vote, 
since ibis would bring- tbe olticc into ibc region of politics, 
and be insisted tbat no t^ine sbould be eligible to tbe super- 
intendency except "a man of competent learning and of 
practical skill and experience in tbe art of teacbing." As 
a fnrtber safeguard be migbt be commissioned by tbe State 
Su[)erinteiulent and be subject to removal by tbat ot^cer 
for sufficient cause. Superintendent Hosford. in bis report 
for 1866, made an extended argument tor tbe county suixm'- 
intendency. based cbietl}' u}H^n tbe results cU* tbe system in 
otber States. 

r>y tbis time jMiblic sentiment bad become tborougbly 
arinised upon tbe subject, and tbe Kegislature of 1807. by 
an unexpectedly large majority, enacted a law establisbing 
tbe county system. At its next meeting tbe State associa- 
tion resolved: "tbat we bail tbe county >uperintentlency ; 
we recognize in it a most important step toward tbe eleva- 
tion of tbe primary scbool to a bigber and nun-e powerful 
place in tbe moralizing and Cbristianizing intluences of tbe 
day." 

Tbis resolution expressed tbe general feeling of tbo 
teacbers of tbe State and of c^ber frieutls of educational 
progress. Tbe law provided fi^- tbe election of tbe Super- 
intendents, for a term of two years, by vote of tbe pcciple 
at tbe April townsbip meetings. Tbe men clu^seu at tbe 
first election were, as a wlu^le. a cboice body. Many of 
tbeiu bad allowed tbemselves {o be nominated auil elected. 
not because tbey desired tbe pc\^itii"»n. but for tbe rcascMi tbat 
tbey were greatlx- interested in tbe success o\ tbe system. 
Among tbeni were lion. Jobn L). Tierce, tbe hrst Superin- 



THE COUNTY SYSTEM 



153 



tendent of public instruction in the State : 1^'ofossor D. B. 
Briggs, subsequently elected State Superintendent ; C. F. 
R. Bellows, H. C. Ford, W. S. Perry, J. M. liallou, 1). 
Putnani. and others of etpial worth. 

The compensation of the county Superintendent within 
niininuim and niaxiniuni limits fixed hv the statute, was de- 
termined by the count\- hoards of supervisions. The examina- 
tion and certification of teachers were placed in the hands 
of the superintendents, except in counties \\ith ten or 
a less number of districts ; for such counties the townshij> 
inspectors cc^n^'inued in authority as liefore. Three grades 
of certificates, of such form as the State Superintendent 
prescribed, were provided for : the first grade was valid 
for two years ; the second, for one year ; both good through- 
out the county. The third was valid for only six nu^nths 
and in a specified township. l{xaminaticMis were to be held 
in each township at least once a year. The extent of the 
examination was left to the discretion of the examiner, with 
only the provision that it nuist include orthography, reading, 
writing, granunar, geography, and arithmetic. 

The superintendent was to visit each school in the county 
at least once in the year, examine into the nunles of instruc- 
tion and discipline, counsel with teachers and school offi- 
cers, inquire into the condition of school houses, of district 
and township libraries, and prcMUcHe the improvement of the 
schools by public lectures, teachers' institutes, and all cUher 
available means. 

Under the workings of this system great improvements 
in the schools of many of the counties were made, and the 
association of county superintendents did good service to 
education generally in the State. Gradually some serious 



154 THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEM AGAIN 

defects in the law manifested themselves, and various causes 
conspired to produce dissatisfaction with the system, and 
to create a demand for a change. 

TOWNSHIP supi:rint£;ndb:nts. 

In 1875 the Legislature repealed the county superinten- 
dency law and substituted a system of township superinten- 
dents, differing only a little from the discarded and worth- 
less plan of township inspectors. The township superinten- 
dent, in reality, took the place of one of the school inspec- 
tors and held office for one year only. He examined teach- 
ers, granted certificates, and was directed to visit all the 
schools in the township at least twice in the year. Many 
of the provisions of the county superintendency law were 
retained, the township officer being substituted for the 
county officer. The examinations were noniinally the same, 
the certificates were essentially of the same grades, and the 
supervisory duties were scarcely changed. 

The State Superintendent sent out a circular to the newly 
created Superintendents, carefully explaining the provisions 
of the law and the duties which it imposed. The general 
fitness of these officers for their duties, may be inferred from 
the fact that only 272 out of 915 complied with the request 
of the Superintendent for a report of the work done by them 
during the first period of their service. As might have been 
anticipated, in most of the counties, the character of the 
teachers and the schools suffered severely under the new 
system, and public sentiment soon began to demand a 
change of some sort. A return to the old county superin- 
tendency did not appear desirable, without some radical 
improvements in several directions. Experience had done 



COUNTY BOARD OF EXAMINERS 



155 



some wholesome and effective teaching to both the advo- 
cates and opponents of the county system. A new law 
would embody the results of the lessons learned. It was 
certain at least that a board of examiners would be substi- 
tuted for a single examiner. 

COUNTY KXAMINI^RS — TOWNSHIP SUPE:RVISI0N. 

A new law, enacted in 1881, attempted to combine county 
examinations with township supervision, nearly in accord- 
ance with a plan recommended by Superintendent Gower 
in his report for 1880. "The true system of local supervis- 
ion," he said, "must include the district board, the town- 
ship inspectors, the county officer, or officers, and the State 
department, inter-dependent, mutually responsible, and 
working with perfect harmony and mutual respect." The 
law provided for a county board of three examiners, elected 
by the chairmen of the boards of school inspectors, after 
the first election, for a term of three years. This county 
board elected one of its members as Secretary, who was the 
executive officer of the board. This board examined the 
teachers of the county and gave three grades of certificates, 
the first grade valid for three years ; the second, for two 
years ; the third, for one year, throughout the county. A 
special certificate, valid for a very limited time in a specified 
district, could be granted by the Secretary. The Secretary 
was required to visit any school in the county when notified 
by the chairman of a township board of inspectors that such 
school v/as in need of special attention. This was the 
extent of the supervision exercised by the county examiners. 

The chairman of the board of school inspectors was made 
supervisor of the schools of his township with the ordinary 



156 COUNTY SUPERVISION 

duties and powers pertaining to that position. Probably 
the law was the best which could have been secured at that 
time, while the prejudice against the previous county super- 
intendency system was still strong in the minds of many 
members of the Legislature. The result, however, was 
what might have been anticipated ; township supervision 
proved to be "a mere farce in a large percentage of the 
townships of the State," to borrow the truthful language of 
one of the county secretaries. 

PROVISION FOR COUNTY SUPERVISION. 

In 1887 the law was revised and amended, the product 
being an improved but complicated and, in some features, 
an undesirable system. Two county examiners were chosen, 
for a term of two years, by the chairmen of the township 
boards of inspectors. These two, with the judge of pro- 
bate, appointed and employed a Secretary, for the term of 
one year, who became ex-officio a member of the county 
board and its executive officer. The Secretary examined 
candidates for positions as teachers, and the other members 
of the board acted with him in granting certificates. As 
before, certificates were of three grades, the first being made 
valid throughout the State. Examination questions were 
to be furnished by the Superintendent of public instruction. 
Under the previous law, "the theory and art of teaching, 
history of the United States, and civil government" had 
been added to the studies in which examination must be 
made. By the present act, ''physiology and hygiene with 
particular reference to the effects of alcoholic drinks, stim- 
ulants, and narcotics upon the human system," were added. 
The Secretary was required to visit each school in the 



COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 



157 



county at least once in the year, and to perform all the 
usual duties of a supervising officer. The chairman of the 
board of inspectors still continued to have nominal "Super- 
visory charge" of the schools of his township subject to 
the advice and direction of the Secretary. In counties hav- 
ing more vSchools than the Secretary could visit personally, 
he was authorized, with the approval of the other members 
of the board, to employ ''assistant visitors" for a strictly 
limited period in the year. This law, like the one which 
it superseded, proved unsatisfactory, although it resulted, 
in many counties, in producing considerable improvement 
in the schools. 

COUNTY COMMISSIONER 0^ SCHOOLS. 

In the year 1891 an act was passed providing for County 
Commissioners of schools and two county examiners. These 
three constituted a county board for the examination of 
teachers. The commissioner is a county superintendent 
with a different title, and is charged with the duty of super- 
vising the schools of the county, with authority, within cer-^ 
tain limits, to appoint assistant visitors where these are 
needed. This law, since amended in several particulars, 
especially in respect to the qualifications of the members 
of the board and the length of the term of office, still re- 
mains in force ; and it will be sufficient to give a brief out- 
line of its provisions at this time (1901) without consider- 
ing in detail its successive amendments and improvements. 

The county commissioner is chosen by the people at the 
election on the first Monday in April, at present for a term 
of two years, in 1903 and thereafter, for four years. To be 
eligible to th^ office of commissioner a person must have 



158 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS 

had an experience of twelve months as a teacher in the 
public schools of the State, must be a graduate of the liter- 
ary department of some reputable college, university, or 
State normal school having a course of at ^east three years, 
or hold a State teacher's certificate, or be the holder of a 
first grade certificate ; but this last certificate only qualifies 
the holder in the county where it is granted. In counties 
having less than fifty districts a second grade certificate 
qualifies. 

The two school examiners are elected by the county board 
of supervisors for a term of two years. Any person is 
eligible to the office of examiner who has the qualifications 
required for a commissioner, or has taught in the public 
schools nine months and holds, or has held within three 
years, a second grade certificate. 

Three grades of certificates are granted, subject to such 
rules as the Superintendent of public instruction, may pre- 
scribe. The first grade is valid for four years, and is good 
throughout the State when endorsed by the State Superin- 
tendent, but can be granted only to persons who have taught 
at least one year with ability and success. The second 
grade is valid throughout the county for three years, but 
can be granted only to those who have taught at least seven 
months. Certificates of the third grade are of two classes, 
known as A and B. Certificates of class A entitle the 
holder to teach in primary departments of graded schools 
only ; those of class B entitle the holder to teach in any 
school in the county for one year, but only three certifi- 
cates of this class can be granted to the same person. The 
commissioner can grant a special certificate entitling a per- 
son to teach in a specified district till the next public exam- 



EXTENT OF EXAMINATIONS 



159 



ination, but only one such certificate can be given to the 
same person. No certificate can be granted to a person 
over twenty-one years of age who is not a citizen of the 
United States. 

The studies in which examinations for the lowest grade 
of certificate must be made are ''orthography, reading, writ- 
ing, grammar, geography, arithmetic, theory and art of 
teaching. United States history, civil government, and phys- 
iology and hygiene with reference to the effect of alcoholic 
drinks, stimulants and narcotics upon the human system." 
Persons receiving certificates must have attained the age 
of eighteen years under the present law. Under the last 
previous law the age was seventeen, earlier it was sixteen, 
and earlier still no age limit was prescribed. 

All questions for examination are prepared and furnished 
by the State Superintendent : and that officer determines, 
usually after consultation with the county examiners, in 
what studies candidates for second and first grade certifi- 
cates shall be examined. 

Certificates may be renewed without examination under 
certain circumstances, and the examiners in one county 
may accept examination papers written in another county 
and treat them as if written before themselves. An appli- 
cant for a first grade certificate, who is dissatisfied with the 
decision of the county examiners, may appeal to the Super- 
intendent of public instruction. 

OTHER AUTHORITIES GRANTING LEGAE CERTIFICATES 

the: state board of education. 

From 1867 to 1875 the Superintendent of public instruc- 
tion was empowered to grant certificates, on any evidence 



i6o CERTIFICATES BY BOARD OF EDUCATION 

satisfactory to him, licensing the holders to teach in any 
of the primary or graded schools of the State, the certifi- 
cates being valid till revoked by the Superintendent. 
About 150 certificates were granted under this law, but the 
very indefinite provisions of the act unavoidably opened 
the way for dissatisfaction and suspicion of favoritism. It 
was, however, especially during the period of the township 
superintendency, generally felt that there should be some 
State officer, or officers, authorized to make examination 
and grant certificates. This feeling led to the enactment of 
a law in 1879, giving the State Board of Education power, 
after ''a thorough and critical examination," to grant certi- 
ficates, valid for a term of ten years, to persons found to 
possess eminent scholarship and professional ability" and 
good moral character. The board still retains this author- 
ity, the original act having been only slightly modified. The 
certificates now granted are valid foj life unless revoked 
by the Board. No certificate can be granted except upon 
the prescribed examination. The Board also has authority, 
in its discretion, ''to endorse State teachers' certificates or 
normal school diplomas granted in other States." The 
Board controls the granting of other certificates as will be 
noticed later on. 

NORMAL SCHOOL DIPLOMAS AND CERTII^ICATES. 

The act establishing the normal school at Ypsilanti con- 
tained this provision : "So soon as any person has attended 
said institution twenty-two weeks, said person may be ex- 
amined in the studies required by the Board, in such manner 
as may be prescribed, and if it appear that said person pos- 
§esses the learning and other qualifications necessary to 



CERTIFICATES FOR TEACHERS i6i 

teach a good common school, said person shall receive a 
certificate to that effect from the Principal, to be approved 
by the Superintendent of public instruction." It seems 
probable that the intention of this clause of the statute was 
to make the certificate granted a legal license to teach ; but 
the word legal was not used, and the township inspectors 
insisted that the holders of such certificates should submit 
to an examination by them. In accordance with a recom- 
mendation of the State Superintendent, the Legislature in 
1857 passed an act authorizing the board of instruction of 
the school to grant to graduates a diploma which, when 
signed by the Board of Education, would be evidence of the 
completion of the course of study. This diploma was not 
itself a legal certificate; but was to be accompanied by a 
certificate, signed by the board of instruction, which served 
as a legal license to teach in any of the primary schools of 
the State until revoked by some proper authority. It will 
be observed that the certificate was granted by the Faculty 
of the school arid not by the Board of Education. This 
continued to be the case until 1889. Since that date the 
certificates as well as the diplomas, are given by the Board 
of Education. At the present time certificates of two grades, 
good throughout the State, are granted at the college at 
Ypsilanti and at the school in Marquette, one valid for five 
years, the other for life. At the central normal at Mt. Pleas- 
ant certificates of two grades are granted, valid for a limited 
period, and renewable for the same length of time. Probab- 
ly the certificates from this school will be made uniform with 
the others at an early day. 



i62 FROM COLLEGES AND THE UNIVERSITY 

ckrtificatf:s i^rom tuk collkgeis. 

Ill 1893 a legislative act was passed empowering the 
Board of Education to grant certificates, without examina- 
tion, to graduates of such colleges of the State as should 
comply with certain prescribed conditions in respect to 
courses of study and instruction. If the graduates have 
already had three years of successful experience in the 
schools of the State, the certificate is valid for life. Grad- 
uates without previous experience receive certificates valid 
for four years. At the expiration of that time, if they have 
taught successfully, they may receive life certificates. 

CERTIFICATES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. 

In 1 89 1 authority was granted by the Legislature, to the 
Faculty of the department of Literature, Science, and the 
Arts of the University, to give a legal certificate of qualifi- 
cation to teach in any of the schools of the State, "to every 
person receiving a bachelor's, master's or doctor's degree, 
and also a teacher's diploma for work done in the science 
and art of teaching from said University." 

CERTIFICATES IN SOME CITIES. 

''In incorporated cities employing a principal of the high 
school and also a superintendent of schools, who gives not 
less than one-half of his time to school supervision, the 
superintendent of schools and the Board of Education, or 
a committee thereof, shall be empowered to examine then- 
teachers and grant certificates" to them in such form as 
the Superintendent of public instruction shall prescribe. 



KINDERGARTEN, xMUSIC, DRAWING 163 

Cities having a thoroughly equipped normal training school 
are exempt from these provisions in relation to the examina- 
tion of teachers. Such certificates are valid only in the 
city in which they were given. 

KINDIvRGARTEN TiCACHERS, AND Te:ACHERS OF MUSIC AND 

DRAWING. 

By an act passed in 1901, "graduates of any kindergarten 
training school, endorsed by the Superintendent of public 
instruction, who hold, also, a teacher's certificate or diploma 
from a reputable college of the State, or a high school hav- 
ing a four years' high school course, are legally qualified 
kindergarten teachers." 

''Any person who has finished a course of at least two 
years in music in the University of Michigan, or in any of 
the State normal schools, or in any college incorporated 
under the general laws of the State, and any person who has 
finished a course of at least one year in drawing in any of 
the aforesaid institutions, or in any other institution, whose 
course of study is acceptable to the Superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction, and holds in either case a statement from the 
proper authorities of the institution certifying to that fact, 
is a legally qualified teacher in music or in drawing." 



CHAPTER XIII. 
ABOUT TEXT-BOOKS. 

The first school law of the State eave no authority to 
any school official to prescribe the books which might be 
used in the schools. Parents furnished their children with 
such books as they happened to have or could most easily 
procure. The result of this freedom can be easily under- 
stood. The reports of Superintendent Pierce and of his 
immediate successor, Mr. Sawyer, showed that about thirty 
dififerent books were in use for reading purposes. At the 
head of this list was the old English reader, with the New 
Testament as second and the Juvenile reader third. Fif- 
teen works on arithmetic were named, with Daboll, Adams, 
and Smith in the lead. Ten geographies appeared, with 
Olney as first. The long list of grammars was headed by 
Kirkham. Mr. Sawyer, in commenting upon the condition 
of affairs, said, "If a general uniformity cannot be brought 
about, it is suggested whether the plan in some States, of 
authorizing the town committees, (or inspectors with us) 
to prescribe the books to be used in their own limits, might 
not be adopted." The early State reports make it evident 
that the evil of a multiplicit} of text-books is a very old one, 
and that it has not been easy to find and apply an efficient 
remedy. 

In 1839 the Legislature made it the duty of the State 
Superintendent to report, "What provision, in his opinion, 
could or ought to be made i)y law, to insure a regular and 

164 



PLAN TO SECURE UNIFORMITY 165 

sufficient supply of text-books to every school district on 
.the most economical terms, or what other provision, if any, 
should, in his opinion, be made to secure uniformity, as near 
as may be, in the books to be used in primary schools." 

This act was probably passed in consequence -of a peti- 
tion praying the Legislature "to provide by law for a 
better supply, as well as a greater uniformity, of school 
books." The plan proposed by the petitioners is histori- 
cally interesting, as foreshadowing some of more recent 
date. The superintendent of public instruction was to be 
authorized and directed to purchase annually, at his dis- 
cretion, legally approved books and stationery equal to the 
probable wants of the sdiools and the district libraries, and 
establish a central depository from which distribution should 
be made to the treasurer of each county, who should be the 
keeper of a depository for the county. The county treas- 
urer was to appoint some person in each township to keep 
a township depository of school books. Books were to be 
sold to residents of INIichigan at uniform prices fixed by 
the Superintendent. The Superintendent was to use such 
portion of the principal of the primary school fund as might 
be necessary to put the plan into operation. 

Mr. Pierce did not explicitly recommend this or any 
other plan, but simply said in his report : "Could some plan 
of this nature be put into successful operation, it would 
doubtless contribute to the public advantage. As it now 
is, the districts, in most cases, are obliged to rely upon the 
merchants for supply. This supply is often irregular — 
many of the books purchased are of the most inferior de- 
scription — and frequently sold at high prices — some pur- 
chase one kind, some another ; and this introduces confusion 



i66 RECOMMENDED BY SUPERINTENDENT ' 

of books into many of our schools. But whether any sys- 
tem Hke that proposed can be safely attempted, is for the 
Legislature in its wisdom to determine." Evidently the 
Superintendent had little faith in the practicability of the 
scheme, and the Legislature appears to have given it no 
serious consideration. 

One of the first legislative acts, looking towards a pos- 
sible uniformity of text-books, was a provision of law mak- 
ing it the duty of the State Superintendent to prepare and 
recommend lists of books suitable for use in the schools, 
and also for district libraries. The schools, however, were 
not required to use these books, and the recommendations 
produced apparently no appreciable effect. The lists 
were appended to the annual reports in some years, and 
were also appended, for some time, to the successive editions 
of the school laws. 

One of the most extended and carefully prepared lists 
was published in 1858 by Superintendent May hew. In his 
explanatory introduction to this list, he states that it had 
been made up after consultation with many competent teach- 
ers, and that no books were included which had not re- 
ceived their cordial approval. After adverting to the evils 
springing from a lack of uniformity, he went on to say : 
"It is not necessary to the removal of the difficulty, that the 
same series of books should be used throughout the State. 
This indeed would be impracticable, if desirable. It might 
be well, however, for all the schools of a township to use 
a uniform series of books ; and especially is it essential that 
a uniform series be used in every school district." For the 
purpose of securing uniformity, he recommended that the 
County educational society, where such a society existed, 



AUTHORITY GRANTED TO SCHOOL BOARDS 167 

should, through a judicious committee, select and recom- 
mend a series of books for use in the schools of the county. 
If there were no county society, the work might be done for 
a township by the township society. If this was not practi- 
cable, he advised that uniformity be attempted by the united 
action of the several districts in a township, or of a number 
of contiguous districts, through committees. This plan 
proved of no practical value, but is of historical interest as 
showing one of the many methods suggested for securing 
uniformity, and solving a most difficult problem by volun- 
tarv action, without the peremptory mandate of law. The 
revised act of 1857 for the organization and management of 
graded schools empowered the trustees of such districts to 
prescribe courses of studies and text-books. This was gen- 
erally done in the larger schools. An amendment to the 
general school law, made about the same time, authorized 
and directed the district boards ''to prescribe a uniform list 
of text-books to be used in their schools." No specific pen- 
alty was attached to a failure to comply with this provision 
of the law, and it remained practically a dead letter in most 
districts, the board being indisposed to disturb the good 
feeling of the neighborhood by requiring a change of text- 
books in order to secure uniformity. 

Attached to an edition of the school law, issued in 1859, 
was a list of text-books, prepared with much care by Super- 
intendent Gregory. In some introductory remarks he said : 
"The use of the books recommended by the superintendent 
is not obligatory upon the district, the right to prescribe 
authoritatively the text-books being vested in the district 
board." A few of the books on the list are named here 
to recall some of the popular text-books of sixty years ago. 



l68 SOME OF THE POPULAR TEXT-BOOKS 

Daboll, Kirkham, Olney, and the English reader had disap- 
peared. In their places were recommended Stoddard's, 
Davies' and Colbiirn's arithmetics ; Welch's, Sill's and 
Green's grammars ; Cornell's, Montieth's and McNally's, 
and Warren's geographies ; Webb's and Sander's readers ; 
and Willson's and Goodrich's histories. Town and PIol- 
brook's speller was the favorite. 

Ten years later, after the county superintendency had 
been established, Superintendent Hosford wrote : "The 
great diversity of text-books still exist, and the evil is as 
strongly felt as in past years. Many of the superintendents 
have endeavored to secure uniformity in their respective 
counties. The effort has not been entirely unavailing." 
He regarded the positive and diverse opinions and prefer- 
ences of teachers as one of the most serious obstacles in the 
way of securing uniformity. Individual preference, he de- 
clared, should be disregarded. In his report for 1877, Su- 
perintendent Tarbell published an extended table showing 
the text-books used in the different departments of the grad- 
ed schools, and also showing the condition of affairs in the 
rural schools by extracts from the reports of the township 
Superintendents, the township system of supervision having 
been reestablished. It was almost universally agreed that 
the diversity of text-books was one of the most serious hin- 
drances to progress in the schools. Mr. Tarbell discussed 
somewhat fully the causes of the existing conditions in the 
country schools, and asked, "What shall be done about it?" 
He called attention to the fact that the law was precisely 
the same, in this matter, for the graded and the ungraded 
schools, and yet the graded schools generally had uniformity 
while the ungraded did not. His explanation of this was 



MR. TARBELL'S VIEWS ON UNIFORMITY 169 

very simple, brief, and correct. He said : "The graded 
school boards dare, and the district school boards dare not 
comply with the law. In the latter case the board being but 
few in numbers, being the neighbors, and desirous of being 
the friends of those affected by their action, they shrink from 
doing their duty as officers, lest it should afifect their rela- 
tions as men ; for some, perhaps most, will almost inevitably 
be displeased at their action." But, to prevent woful waste 
of money and effort, so]ne uniformity must be had. What 
shall it be? State, county, township, district?" A State 
system of uniformity, he declared, was a most dazzling 
scheme. A national uniformity would be more brilliant 
still. 

In respect to a State system of uniformity Mr. Tarbell 
said : "Its difficulties lie in the centralization of undue 
power in the hands of a few, the great liability to bribery 
and the certain charges of it, the extent of change inevita- 
ble, its inequality, some books being selected which are ex- 
tensively used in certain parts of the State and very little 
elsewhere, the difficulty of selecting books adapted to the 
wants of all. As Superintendent of public instruction I 
should not wish a committee to select books for the State 
to be constituted without including myself, nor should I 
dare for the sake of my good name to act on such a com- 
mittee." 

"County uniformity presents these difficulties to a less 
extent than State uniformity, but by no means escapes them. 
The experience of other States is by no means assuring to 
the advocates of county uniformity. The extent of the 
moneyed interests involved lead to bitter strife, and after all 
to a plentiful lack of the uniformity sought. Berrien county 



170 



FREE TEXT-BOOKS RECOMMENDED 



tried county uniformity two years with results well known." 
He favored township uniformity, as on the whole the 
most practicable, and open to the fewest objections and dan- 
gers, and suggested a plan for securing this ; but made the 
following recommendation to bring about district uniform- 
ity, and at the same time reduce the cost of books : 

''The plan of 'free text-books' is the best solution of the 
difficulty arising from expensiveness of school books with 
which I am conversant. I recommend the passage of a law 
allowing the tax-paying voters of each district to determine, 
at the annual meeting, whether the district board shall fur- 
nish school books at the expense of the district to all pupils 
in attendance at the school during the coming year, the books 
to be the property of the district and loaned to the pupils 
under suitable restrictions." He stated that several States 
had a law of this kind which was reported to give general 
satisfaction. No immediate results followed from Mr. Tar- 
bell's arguiments and recommendations. 

In the report of 1883 Superintendent Gass treated the 
same subject quite extensively, presenting the conclusions 
reached by experiments in several other States in respect 
to State uniformity. The consensus of opinion was adverse 
to such uniformity for what appeared to be cogent reasons. 
The conclusion of Mr. Gass was that township uniformity 
was the most feasible and most likely to prove satisfactory 
and successful. He strongly favored, however, the passage 
of a law allowing districts to furnish text-books free. A 
table included in his report showed the names and number 
of different text-books in orthography, reading, arithmetic, 
grammar, geography, and history of the United States used 
in nine counties in the State. The books in orthography 



INSTRUCTION IN PHYSIOLOGICAL HYGIENE 171 

were nine ; in reading, fifteen ; in arithmetic, five ; in gram- 
mar, nine ; in geography, vSeven ; and in history, eight. Har- 
rington's orthography. Harper's readers. Harper's and Rob- 
inson's arithmetics, Swinton's grammar. Harper's geog- 
raphy, and Scott's history were more extensively used than 
any others. The table made evident the fruitful industry 
of the "book agent." 

In 1883 an amendment was made to the school law, pro- 
viding for the instruction of "all pupils in every school in 
physiology and hygiene, with special reference to the effects 
of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics generally, upon 
the human system." This provision was amended in 1887 
so as to require "such instruction to be given by the aid 
of text-books in the case of pupils who are able to read, and 
as thoroughly as in other studies pursued in the same school. 
The text-books to be used for such instruction shall give at 
least one-fourth of their space to the consideration of the 
nature and effects of alcoholic drinks and narcotics, and 
the books used in the highest grade of graded schools shall 
contain at least twenty pages of matter relating to this sub- 
ject." 

Text-books upon this subject must be examined and ap- 
proved by the State board of education before school offi- 
cers can introduce them into the schools, and only books so 
approved can be lawfully introduced and used. At first the 
State board of health was required to join with the board 
of education in the examination and approval, but this re- 
quirement was omitted in the later editions of the school 
laws. 

At a meeting in 1884 the county examiners devised and 
discussed a somewhat elaborate plan for securing voluntary 



172 



LAW FOR FREE TEXT-BOOKS 



county uniformity, and voted to urge the Legislature to 
provide for such uniformity by law. 

By a special act of the Legislature, passed in 1885, the 
board of education of East Saginaw was given authority to 
purchase text-books and all necessary supplies for all pupils 
attending the public schools in that city. A report of the 
city Superintendent a year and a half after the law went 
into effect, spoke very favorably of the result of the experi- 
ment, which was the first made in the State. 

The influence of the Saginaw experiment and the pres- 
sure from various quarters, induced the Legislature, in 1889, 
to enact a law permitting any school district to provide free 
text-books for its school, and requiring the voters of every 
district, except those organized under special charters, to 
vote upon the question at the first annual meeting after the 
passage of the law. It is not necessary here to note the de- 
tailed provisions of this act. 

At the first annual meeting a considerable number of dis- 
tricts voted for free text-books, more in the newer than in 
the older counties, but in many districts the school officers 
failed to comply v/ith the provisions of the law and no vote 
was taken. While districts organized under special charters 
are exempt from the provisions of this general law, they may 
act under it if a majority of the voters decide to do so. 

Books may be furnished free in the following subjects: 
Orthography, spelling, writing, reading, geography, arith- 
metic, grammar (including language lessons), National and 
State history, civil government, and physiology and hygiene. 
Books once adopted cannot be changed within five years, and 
all books upon any one subject must be uniform. The vexed 
question of uniformity is thus settled in all districts having 



PROVISION FOR FREE TEXT-BOOKS 



173 



free text-books. The effect of this free text-book act is 
stated as follows by Superintendent Hammond in his report 
for 1898 : *'Up to the close of the public schools, June 30, 

1898, 359 common districts including villages, 46 entire 
townships under the township unit system, and 7 cities had 
taken advantage of the provisions of the law and were sup- 
plying text-books free to pupils. These numbers seem 
small when it is remembered that the law has been in effect 
eight years, and that there are in Michigan 7,262 school dis- 
tricts, including iii township unit districts and "jy cities." 

In the report, from which the above is quoted, Mr. Ham- 
mond presented an extended and thorough discussion of 
"Text-book Legislation," which was also issued and circu- 
lated in pamphlet form. The reader who desires to become 
more fully acquainted with the subject, is referred to this 
document. 

An act to establish a State uniformity of text-books was 
passed by the Legislature in 1897. This statute was extend- 
ed and elaborate, but was not to go into effect until the year 

1899. Public sentiment against this law became so mani- 
fest and vigorous that it v/as repealed at the next session of 
the Legislature, before it went fully into effect ; and the 
previous act for free and uniform text-books, by voluntary 
district action, remains in force. 

The general result under the law thus far, summed up 
by Superintendent Hammond, in the report of 1900, is as 
follows : "The free text-book plan has been thoroughly tried 
in Michigan, and under the law of 1889, 38 per cent of all 
the pupils enrolled in our public schools are furnished with 
text-books free. Fifteen of our largest cities furnish free 
text-books to all of the first eight grades, and the City of 



174 PROVISION FOR FREE TEXT-BOOKS 

Muskegon furnish them to the sixth grade inclusive. Many 
country schools also furnish them. Wexford county has 
40 free text-book districts ; Missaukee, 38 ; Saginaw, 37 ; 
Bay, 25 ; Menominee, 24 ; Osceola, 23, Kalkaska, 22. In 
the entire State there are 671 districts, in which were en- 
rolled last year 56,779 children. More than double that 
number, or 134,616, are supplied with text-books in the 16 
free text-book cities in the State. This law should be 
amended so that the question of furnishing free text-books 
may be raised by a tax-payer at any annual meeting. It 
should also be recast, and some bungling and ambiguous 
sentences corrected or removed. With these slight changes, 
our laws are good enough and should not be disturbed by 
the Legislature." 

Text-book conditions in the State at present may be 
summarized as follows : 

1. The district boards of the common districts, the trus- 
tees of graded districts, and the school boards of cities, pre- 
scribe the studies to be pursued in their schools and the 
text-books to be used. But they are required to make pro- 
visions for instruction in physiology and hygiene with refer- 
ence to the effects of alcohol and narcotics, and to use in 
this study books approved by the State board of education. 
These provisions, when carried out, secure district uni- 
formity. 

2. District boards may supply, at the expense of the dis- 
trict, text-books for children whose parents are unable to 
furnish such books. 

3. All school districts and cities may furnish free text- 
books for their schools in the subjects named in a previous 
paragraph. 



LESSONS FROM EXPERIMENTATION 



175 



4. Text-books once adopted under the free text-book act, 
can not be changed within five years. Text-books adopted 
under the general school law cannot be changed within five 
years, except by vote of the district, permitting or ordering 
the change. 

The history of text-book discussions, legislation and ex- 
perimentation, affords an interesting but unfortunate illus- 
tration of the ever-recurring struggle between extreme indi- 
vidualism on the one hand and centralization, more or less 
extreme, upon the other. With us the school district repre- 
sents the individual ; the State, centralized authority. How- 
ever one's judgment decides, one's sympathy goes out to 
the individual. A judicious compromise is usually the wis- 
est and most permanent settlement. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE LIBRARY SYSTEM. 

The first constitution of the State made it the duty of the 
Legislature, "as soon as the circumstances of the State will 
permit" to provide for the establishment of libraries, one at 
least in -each township ; and directed that money paid for 
exemption from military duty, and the proceeds of fines 
assessed for any breach of the penal laws, should be applied 
exclusively to the support of such libraries. The constitu- 
tion of 1850 contained a provision essentially the same. A 
subsequent amendment allowed the proceeds from fines to 
be used for other school purposes if the township board 
or the school board of a city should so direct. Superintend- 
ent Pierce recommended the establishment of a library in 
each district rather than a single central township library. 
"No means," he said, "next to the establishment of schools, 
can be more admirably adapted to the intellectual and moral 
culture, the improvement and progress of the people in 
knowledge, than the founding of well-selected libraries." The 
original school law permitted school districts to impose a 
tax for the purchase of a library case, and an annual tax 
of ten dollars for the purchase of books. The books might 
be selected by vote of a district or by the district board. 
No provisions were made for township libraries. 

The establishment of libraries went on very slowly. Su- 
perintendent Sawyer stated, in his report for 1841, that only 
$170.80 had been raised for library purposes during that 

176 



SLOW GROWTH OF LIBRARIES 177 

year, and that nothing had been received from fines or for 
exemptions from miHtary duty. He insisted upon the vast 
importance of judiciously selected libraries as a means of 
advancing common school education, and called attention to 
some valuable works recently published with special refer- 
ence to school libraries. In obedience to the requirements of 
the statute, Mr. Sawyer published, in the report of 1842, rules 
and regulations for the management of district libraries. 
Superintendent Comstock, who succeeded Mr. Sawyer in 
1843, ptiblished an extended list of books for use in the 
schools, and also for the libraries. The number of volumes 
in the libraries in 1850 was reported to be 84,823. 

Some minor changes were made from time to time in the 
law relating to libraries. Township libraries were author- 
ized, and practically, in most townships, only one library 
was maintained until 1859, the books of which were to be 
distributed, once in three months, to the various districts in 
the township. Some district libraries existed in addition to 
the central library. The funds for the support of the librar- 
ies in 1850 were the proceeds of fines and of exemption from 
military duty, and twenty-five dollars of the mill tax in each 
township. 

The township plan had thus far proved so unsatisfactory 
and of so little real value generally that in 1859 an act was 
passed authorizing the voters of a township, at the annual 
meeting, to determine whether the township library should 
be continued or district libraries should be allowed in its 
place. If the vote was in favor of district libraries, the 
township inspectors were to divide the books in the town- 
ship library among the several districts in the township in 
proportion to the number of children of school ages. The 



178 CONDITION OF THE LIBRARIES 

district board was to provide for the care of the Hbrary, and 
Hbrary moneys belonging- to the township w^ere to be appor- 
tioned to the districts and nsed for the purchase of books. 
A majority of the township decided in favor of (hstrict Hbrar- 
ies and the books were divided. In most townships the dis- 
tricts received a mere handful of books, which, in not a few 
cases, were soon scattered and lost. For the support of 
libraries the electors of the township, at the annual meeting, 
could vote such part of the mill tax as they pleased. In 
townships having district libraries, the amount so voted was 
apportioned to the several districts, the districts themselves 
having no authority at that time to vote a tax for library 
purposes. Generally very little money was appropriated for 
the purchase of books, and the district svsteiii shared the 
fate of the township system. State Superintendent John 
M. Gregory, who was himself a strong advocate of district 
rather than township libraries, said, in his report of i860: 
''It is evident that our library system must soon go to decay 
and final extinguishment if left to so uncertain and precarious 
a support." Only 133 townships had made any appropria- 
tion from the mill tax for libraries ; and in many cases, when 
something was voted, the amount was so small as to be 
"farcical." Township libraries were reported in 178 town- 
ships with an average of 323 volumes in each library. The 
number of district libraries reported was 2,287, with an 
average of 48 volumes in each. The whole number of vol- 
umes reported, in all the libraries, was 154,514, and the total 
resources from fines, taxes, etc., for the support of libraries 
was only %().Z7S-77- ^I^- Gregory recommended that at 
least one-tenth of the income of the mill tax be set apart, by 
Legislative enactment, for the libraries, and that each dis- 



LIST OF BOOKS FOR LIBRARIES 179 

trict be allowed to vote an additional sum, after providing 
for at least three months of free school. These recommen- 
dations did not produce any immediate effect. 

Complaints in relation to the character of many of the 
books purchased for the libraries induced the Legislature 
of 1859 to enact that the State board of education should 
make a Hst of books, unsectarian in character, suitable for 
district and township libraries, and contract with the lowest 
responsible bidder to furnish these books, at a stipulated 
price, to the townships and districts ordering them. The 
district boards, or township boards of inspectors, were re- 
quired to purchase books from this Hst, unless the voters of 
the districts or townships ordered otherwise. No penalty, 
however, was provided for failure to comply with this law 
on the part of districts or towmships. For several years the 
board of education revised and published, annually or bien- 
nially, such a list; but so few books were purchased from 
it that, after a little time, no responsible bookseller would 
enter into a contract to furnish the books at reduced prices, 
and consequently the plan was abandoned. 

Superintendent Gregory labored very zealously and per- 
sistently to secure the establishment of libraries, and to in- 
duce the Legislature to make adequate provision for their 
support, but his efforts were only partially successful at 
best. In 1861 he wrote, in his report: 'It cannot be con- 
cealed that no very general popular interest is felt in these 
libraries." Out of 658 townships making reports, only 85 
voted any appropriation from the mill tax, and the aggregate 
voted was only $3,058.04. In the report for that year he 
presented brief but most cogent reasons for urging the sup- 
port of district libraries. He insisted that the school with- 



i8o SOME IMPROVEMENT 

out the library was incomplete. ''The school teaches to 
read ; the library furnishes the books for reading. The 
school teaches to think ; the library furnishes the food for 
thought. The school awakens the mind to an active desire 
for knowledge ; the library is the open store-house of knowl- 
edge. The school aims to awaken a taste for literary pleas- 
ure ; the library is the only means by which this taste can be 
gratified." 

In 1870 Superintendent Hosford, with characteristic cau- 
tion wrote : "On the whole, the library statistics afford 
ground for some encouragement." The amount voted for 
libraries, at the township meetings that year, was $2,383.83, 
and the total amount paid for books, was $16,770.88. There 
were reported 1,366 district and 201 township libraries, with 
an aggregate of 150,826 volumes. In that year the school 
law was amended so as to allow districts to vote a tax for 
the support of libraries. It required continued effort for 
ten years to secure this amendment. While it was not the 
most desirable improvement, it was the best then attainable. 

A decade later, 1880, Superintendent Gower wrote : "The 
district libraries are in a large majority of cases practically 
abandoned. I am convinced that it is almost impossible to 
maintain district libraries in any other than graded districts. 
The country library, to be of any value, must be a township 
library." "Of the 1,035 townships of. the State, 334 report 
township libraries, while the remainder, 701, attempt to 
maintain district libraries. But there are only 1,268 district 
libraries in these 701 townships, on an average less than two 
district libraries to each township =!^ * * * 3o far as I 
know all the townships that have a township library main- 
tain it with a fair degree of success, while less than one-third 



EXPENDITURES FOR LIBRARIES i8l 

of the districts acting independently, have any library what- 
ever." The total amount expended for library books during 
the year was $35,544.20, and the aggregate number of vol- 
umes in both the township and district libraries was 156,092. 
■ In the same year, the number of volumes reported in city 
school district libraries was 105,901 ; and the amount paid 
for the support of these libraries Vv^as $18,848.87, of which 
$6,246.60 was raised by taxes voted by the districts. 

In the year 1890 the report showed a fair increase in li- 
brary facilities in graded districts, and some increase in the 
townships. The statistics gave 498 township libraries ; li- 
braries in districts with less than a hundred children, 762 ; 
libraries in graded and city districts 337 ; whole number of 
libraries 1,597. '^^'^^ money voted for township libraries 
was $3,446.49, and the whole amount expended for such 
libraries was $17,033.69. The amount paid for district li- 
braries, including cities, was $70,310.42, making a total of 
$87,344.11. The number of volumes reported in all the 
libraries was 505,720. The statistics for 1900 show a fair- 
ly satisfactory increase in the resources of the libraries, and 
in the number of books added during the preceding decade. 
The number of township libraries had decreased, but there 
had been a large increase in the number of other public 
libraries. The township libraries reported were 426 ; dis- 
trict and city libraries 3,658 ; total, 4,084. Volumes in town- 
ship libraries 157,177; in the other libraries 809,590; total 
volumes 966,767. The amount paid for support of town- 
ship libraries was $9,913.55; for district and city libraries, 
$94,466.17; total, $104,374.72. 

The following are the present provisions of law in relation 
to township and district libraries : 



i82 PRESENT PROVISIONS AS TO LIBRARIES 

1. At. least one library must he maintained in each organ- 
ized township. 

2. All residents of the township, not residing- within the 
boundaries of a school district having a district library, are 
entitled to the privileges of the township library. 

3. The township board of school inspectors have charge 
of the library, purchase books, make rules for the manage- 
ment of the library, appoint a librarian, determine where the 
library shall be kept, and provide all necessary appendages 
and conveniences.. 

4. Any district may establish a district library by a two- 
thirds vote at an annual meeting. In this case the district 
is entitled to its just proportion of the books in the township 
library, and to its equitable share of township library 
moneys. 

5. The district school board has charge of the district 
library, with the same powers and duties as the township 
board of inspectors. 

6. For the support of libraries there are : 

(a). The clear proceeds of all fines for any breach of the 
penal laws of the State and for penalties, or upon any recog- 
nizance in criminal proceedings, and all equivalents for ex- 
emption from military duty. 

(b). Taxes voted by any township at the annual meeting 
for the support of the township library, taxes voted by any 
district, at its annual meeting, for the support of the district 
library. The law, at this time, leaves the amount of the 
tax to be determined by the voters at the meeting. In case 
a district shall discontinue its library, the district board may 
donate or sell the books to the township inspectors to be 
placed in the township library. 



VALUE OF LIBRARIES , 183 

The importance and value of well selected libraries in 
connection with the public schools are now generally recog- 
nized, and many of the cities, villages, and large graded dis- 
tricts have provided excellent libraries and make yearly pro- 
visions for their increase. Experience seems to have proved 
that district libraries are best, and can be maintained profit- 
ably, in the larger graded districts, while in the sparsely 
settled sections of the State, where the population of each 
single district is small, only township libraries can be prop- 
erly supported. In several of the cities elegant and excel- 
lent buildings have been erected for the public libraries, in 
some cases by private munificence ; and the people generally 
are beginning to place a proper estimate upon the value of 
well-selected libraries in connection with the public schools 
of all grades. 



CHAPTER XV. 
EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES. 

Any extended account of the struggle to secure equality 
of educational rights and privileges for women in the higher 
public schools would be out of place here, but the subject 
cannot be entirely ignored even in a sketch of the develop- 
ment of primary and secondary education in the last part 
of the nineteenth century. The struggle in Michigan re- 
lated chiefly to higher education, but the question of co- 
education, so-called, occasionally touched the lower schools 
in the early period. Equality of education does not neces- 
sarily mean co-education or identical education, although 
unfortunately it has frequently been so interpreted and in- 
sisted upon. 

The open-minded seeker after truth, regardless of pre- 
conceived notions and favorite theories, must admit that the 
question whether boys and girls, young men and young 
women, of all dispositions and temperaments should be 
educated in the same schools, taught the same subjects, in 
the same classes and by the same teachers, at all periods of 
school life, is one that has at least two sides, and cannot 
be answered dogmatically and off-hand in the affirmative. 
The answer to this question, whether affirmatively or nega- 
tively, does not, in any way, affect the claim that simple 
justice demands that public education should be provided 
equally for both sexes. 

It will help one to have more patience with the slow pro- 

184 



CONDITIONS IN THE EARLY PERIODS 185 

gress of the efforts to secure such equality for women, if 
he recalls the fact that equal educational rights for all classes 
and conditions of men, were not obtained without a series 
of struggles extending through centuries, and that today 
this equality is found in only a few of the most highly fav- 
ored countries. Distinctions of class have presented obsta- 
cles even more formidable than the distinction of sex. 

There were highly educated and learned women in all the 
historical ages, just as there were great queens and empress- 
es, but these were the exceptions ; women almost universally 
were until recently debarred from everything but the most 
elementary education. In this country before the Revolu- 
tion, in the larger towns, girls were not generally admitted 
to the public schools with the boys. The district schools 
in the smaller towns were open to boys and girls alike, but 
the girls usually attended for only a brief period, and but 
few of them went beyond reading, spelling, and writing. 
Soon after Independence had been secured, there arose a 
demand in most of the larger places, for better opportunities 
for the education of girls. The demand, in some towns, 
was that they should be admitted to the boys' schools. At 
first, the people generally, when the question was put in 
the town meetings, voted to incur no additional expense for 
educating girls. The first concession of conservatism was 
to allow the masters to dismiss the boys an hour earlier in 
the morning, and permit the girls to come in between the 
forenoon and afternoon sessions for an hour or two. Read- 
ing, spelling, and penmanship were taught and the school 
was called a "writing school." A little later, in Boston, a 
double-headed system, so-called, was established, which con- 
tinued for many years. Some of the public schools were 



l86 CONDITIONS IN BOSTON 

practically divided into two schools, one called the Writing 
school, in which reading, writing, and spelling were taught, 
the other the Reading school, in which arithmetic and the 
other elementary branches of that day were taught. 
Into these schools girls were admitted on the same terms as 
boys for six months in the year, from April to October, but 
the sexes did not attend at the same time. The girls, for 
example, attended the Writing school in the forenoon, and 
the boys the Reading school. In the afternoon the boys at- 
tended the Writing school, and the girls the Reading school. 
This singular arrangement afforded the girls half the ad- 
vantages of the boys. Even under this plan the more am- 
bitious of them got a little knowledge of arithmetic, geogra- 
phy, and grammar. An experimental high school for girls 
was organized in Boston in 1826, but proving to be more 
largely patronized than had been anticipated, it was con- 
tinued only two years. A permanent high school for girls 
w^as not established until 1854. 

The nature of the education obtained by girls, a hundred 
years ago, in the public district schools of the east, will be 
best understood from the description given by one who at- 
tended them. A lady, well-known in her day says: "I 
commenced going to a district school, when four years of 
age, and continued summer and winter until I was thirteen. 
During the summer terms all the pupils carried sewing and 
knitting, and had regular stints. I think some of the time 
I must have nearly earned my board by sewing. As the 
most we studied in school was reading, spelling, and writ- 
ing, we had a good deal of time for work. In addition to 
the above branches, we had general exercises in learning 
Abbreviations, Key-sheet, Rules for Punctuation, Names of 



BRANCHES OF STUDY TAUGHT 187 

the Towns in the County, Public Officers, and Good Man- 
ners. No arithmetic or geography was taught at that time. 
I think as much time was given to teaching good manners 
as to anything else. We were practiced in 'making our 
manners' going in and out of school, and to strangers pass- 
ing by when we were out at play. Sometimes the pupils 
would arrange themselves in a line and bow or courtesy all 
together when the minister or a prominent person passed. 
We were requested to go directly home from school and 
'make our manners' to our parents. All the books I can 
remember using were Webster's spelling book, the New 
England Primer, the American Preceptor, and the Bible. 
In the summer school I was taught every variety of sewing. 
In regard to discipline, I cannot remember seeing any cor- 
poral punishment in the sunimer school, and but little in 
the winter. In the summer school the teacher was paid a 
dollar a week and her board." 

After the age of thirteen she says she attended school 
three winters taught by students from Harvard college, tal- 
ented men and enthusiastic teachers. During these winters 
she studied arithmetic and geography such as was then 
taught, and gave much attention to reading. Corporal pun- 
ishment, she says, was seldom inflicted by any of the teach- 
ers, and one teacher never inflicted it. 

I have made this somewhat condensed extract from Mrs. 
Allen's account of her early education for the purpose of 
calling attention to two or three points, concerning which 
quite too sweeping statements have been made by not a 
few writers upon early education and the early schools in 
the country. It is sometimes stated that girls were not al- 
lowed to attend the primary schools with the boys in the 



i88 SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS 

early days in New England. This statement, as we have 
seen, is true in relation to some, possibly all, the larger cities 
and towns. It is not true as to the rural schools generally. 
It is correct to say that the summer school was especially 
for the girls, but the younger boys who were not old enough 
to be employed on the farms or in the shops, also attended. 
It is true that the winter school was especially for the boys, 
but the older girls might also attend, as in the case of Mrs. 
Allen. As a rule the girls received little instruction in arith- 
metic or grammar. 

It should be noticed that "manual training" of certain 
kinds was taught to the girls very generally. The boys had 
a fair variety of such training in connection with their 
home life. I can testify to the instruction in "manners" 
from my own personal experience in a New England dis- 
trict school. 

The remarks of Mrs. Allen in respect to corporal pun- 
ishment should be observed. It is very common for modern 
writers to paint the "master" of one of the old-time schools, 
as a sort of monster, armed with ferule, strap, and birch 
rods, and taking genuine pleasure in applying these to the 
hands and backs of his pupils. There were such "masters," 
many of them without doubt. But all the teachers of the 
common schools of the last century, or of the century before 
the last, were not of that kind. Humanity and humane 
methods in the schools, were known and practiced by many 
teachers even a hundred years ago. I saw very little of 
corporal punishment in the schools of a New Hampshire 
country district sixty and seventy years before the twentieth 
century opened. It is not necessary to darken the shades 
which paint the past in order to render the tints of today 



INSTRUCTION IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS 189 

lighter by contrast. 

Though not entirely germane to our main purpose it 
may be worth our while to know the kind of instruction and 
trammg g.ven to young ladies in some of the better private 
schools, and in some of the more favored families of that 
per,od. Miss Elizabeth P. Peabody, so well-known for her 
efforts m behalf of kindergartens and for other services to 
the cause of education, in writing of some of her immediate 
ancestors, says: "Not a few of the colonists, women as 
well as men, shared in the same culture and the same re- 
spons,b,hties which made such sterling characters as illus- 
trate the annals of the Enghsh commonwealth. I know 
hat my mother had this kind of education. I remember 
her tel mg me that she never remembered the time when 
she d,d not read Shakespear, and she described herself as 
lymg on the floor and reading it aloud to her grandmother 
when she was four years old." Miss Peabody's own 
education was not in the public schools, like Mrs. Allen's 
but ch,efly in a private school taught by her mother, a school' 
wh.ch afforded to young ladies an opportunity for a most 
excellent secondary education. The aim of the school was 
astory and L.terature. The qualification for entrance was 
to be able to read English intelligibly, and the voungest 
pupds were e.ght and ten years of age. They were taught 
anthmefc grammar, and wr.ting, geography, map draw- 
ng m colors, and to write imaginary journeys requiring 
."uch consultation of gazetteers and books of travel Four 
afternoons in the week were devoted to the reading of his- 
tory and hterature, much after the present "round-table" or 
laboratory method," a good deal of conversation being had 
upon what was read. While one read, the others did plain 



IQO EDUCATION FOR GIRLS IX MICHIGAN 

sewing or some work that would occupy the fingers and not 
the mind. Selections were read from the Spectator, the 
Rambler, and from the best Reviews. ^Memoirs of the most 
distinguished and learned women, like ]\Irs. Summerville, 
]\Irs. Barbauld, and Maria Edgeworth, were given to the 
pupils to be read in private. 

The education provided for girls and young women, in the 
older sections of the country, when the territory of ^Michigan 
was organized, and even later when the State government 
was established, was generally of the character indicated 
above. The public facilities for their education extended 
only to the lowest elementary studies. Private schools were 
of varying degrees of excellency, but most of them aimed 
to give what were called the ornamental branches, the "ac- 
complishments." 

During our Territorial period no special public provision 
was made for the instruction of girls ; some private schools 
were opened, now and then, for a few months ; a seminary 
for girls was established by ''Father Richard." The org-ani- 
zation of the State government produced no great immediate 
change. ''Female departments" were established in con- 
nection with several of the "Branches" of the University, 
which provided something of secondary education. The 
courses of study for girls were usually less extended than 
those for boys, and the requirements for entrance were less. 

For entrance to the male department it was necessary to 
pass an examination "in reading, spelling, writing, the ele- 
ments of English grammar, geography, and arithmetic." 

For admission to the female department an examination 
was required only "in reading, spelling, writing, and the 
rudiments of geography." 



GIRLS IN THE "BRANCHES" 191 

In some cases, the two departments were quite distinct 
in their arrangements, and in many cases the sexes were 
instructed in separate classes, and by different teachers. 
Co-education, in the full modern sense of the term, was not 
generally considered desirable or practicable, beyond the 
primary school. In 1840, in the branch at Monroe, there 
were 56 young men and 50 young women ; at White Pigeon, 
6^ young men and 35 young women ; at Niles, 35 young 
men and 22 young ladies ; at Tecumseh, 48 young men and 
24 young ladies. The other branches had no departments 
for ladies during that year. When the branches were dis- 
continued. State provisions for secondary education, either 
for men or women, temporarily ceased. Bv the establish- 
ment of union graded schools, wnth high school departments, 
the cities and larger villages soon began to provide such 
education equally for both sexes, though the studies were 
not, in all cases, the same, and sometimes the ladies were 
taught in separate classes. The State ilormal school, when 
established, was open on equal terms to men and women, 
but the studies for both were not always identical during the 
first years of its history. At one period Latin and Greek 
were prescribed for young men, and Latin and French for 
young women as requisites for graduation. 

The general sentiment among teachers and school officers 
in relation to co-education, in the decade from 1850 to i860, 
may be inferred from replies to a circular of inquiry sent out 
by the State superintendent in 1856. 

The Principal of the Ann Arbor schools said: 'Tn the 
intermediate and high schools the different sexes occupy 
different study rooms ; but they meet at all general exer- 
cises, and so constantly for instruction in classes, that there 



192 



OPINIONS OF TEACHERS 



is scarcely an hour when pupils of both sexes are not occu- 
pying every room. The advantages of the co-education of 
the sexes, which are too great to be sacrificed from regard 
to -mere convenience, are thus secured ; while on the other 
hand, the ladies of the school can receive from a Preceptress 
many a useful lesson, and consult her with a freedom which 
would otherwise be wanting.'' 

The Principal at Coldwater wrote : ''After considerable 
experience, I am of the opinion that the co-education of the 
sexes is decidedly preferable to their being educated sepa- 
rately. It is true that evils, serious evils, may attend this 
system, in individual cases ; but under proper regulations 
and restraints I regard it as the best; and that the evils are 
the exceptions, not the rule." 

The President of the Board of Education of Detroit, said : 
"So far as my experience and observation go, advantages 
result from the co-education of the sexes. I should never 
separate them in school, unless as a mere matter of con- 
venience." 

The director of the union school in Dexter wrote: '1 
am of the opinion that the sexes should invariably receive 
their mental training together." 

The Principal at Flint said : ''Great advantages, in my 
opinion, result from the education of boys and girls in the 
same schools, and seated in the same room ; and I have never 
heard any disadvantages alluded to, that may not be wholly 
overcome, and most of them changed to great advantages, 
by good buildings, spacious and handsome grounds, and 
well-qualified teachers." 

Public sentiment, from that time to the present, has gen- 
erally, if not universally, favored co-education in all grades 



EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN 193 

of the public schools, with such arrangements that teachers 
can meet the sexes separately whenever this may be desira- 
ble, as it sometimes is. 

Since it is a matter upon which all students of educational 
history should have some information, it will not be out of 
place to refer briefly to the series of discussions and efforts 
which resulted in opening the University and other State 
mstitutions of higher learning to women on equal terms 
with men. 

The demand that the State should furnish opportunities 
and facilities for higher education for women equal to 
those furnished for men, began to be made at a very early 
period in the history of the State. The abstract justice of 
the demand was admitted from the beginning, but there 
was no haste in complying with it by any practical measures. 
Provisions could be made in either of two ways ; the exist- 
ing University could be thrown open for the admission of 
women, or another institution of similar character could 
be established for their benefit. Opinions were divided; 
some advocated the first plan, others preferred the second.' 
Equally earnest and intelligent friends of advanced educa- 
tion for women were found in both parties. Naturally the 
question of expense became an important consideration in 
the debates. 

Superintendent Shearman, in 1854, wrote : "General anx- 
iety has been expressed relative to the establishment of an 
institution of high grade for the education of females. In 
the original phn of our educationtl system, such an 
institution was contemplated as a branch of the 
University. The education of the sexes together 
is deemed by the greater portion of our people as 



194 



VIEWS OF SUPERINTENDENT SHEARMAN 



an object of importance. They are so educated in the pri- 
mary schools, and that too, without detriment to their social 
positions or their morals. To establish a female department 
in the University, would be to carry out this idea, but it 
would not seem after all, to be practical to do this. A general 
law may be necessary to secure legislation on this subject, 
if it is proposed to establish a separate institution. When- 
ever such an institution is established, however, it should 
be established on a practical basis : — it should be an institu- 
tion not only where the graces and accomplishments which 
pertain to the highest cultivation of the female character 
can be taught, but where at the same time, instruction could 
be aflforded in the art of domestic economy, and in those 
things which pertain to practical usefulness in life. The 
cultivation of the intellect and graces, and the knowledge re- 
quired to make a loaf of bread, and to know the constituent 
parts of which it is composed, are things which together 
give the highest perfection to the true female character, and 
increase our appreciation of real womanhood. An institu- 
tion which would secure such an education, would indeed 
be an object worthy of all commendation." 

In 1856, Superintendent Mayhew said : "Memorials were 
widely circulated, and presented to the Legislature two years 
ago, praying for the establishment of a Female college under 
the fostering care of the State. This subject was then con- 
siderably discussed by the press, by members of the Legis- 
lature, by the more active friends of education, and by citi- 
zens generally in various portions of the State." 

He states that memorials were then in circulation calling 
the attention of the Legislature "to the fact that no provis- 
ion is made by the State for the education of young women 



OPINION OF SUPERINTENDENT MAYHEW 



195 



beyond the primary schools, unless they wish to become 
teachers," and praying that a fund might be created for 
the support of an institution for the higher education of 
women, which should give them opportunities and advan- 
tages equal to those enjoyed by young men. 

Mr. Mayhew took the ground that it was not necessary 
to establish another institution for the higher education of 
women ; he insisted that they had a legal right to enter the 
existing University on precisely the same conditions as men. 
To substantiate his contention he quoted the statutory pro- 
vision of the act for the organization of the University : 
"The University shall be open to all persons residents of 
this State, without charge of tuition, under the regulations 
prescribed by the Regents." 

If women are persons, which he believed would not be 
controverted, then their right to enter the University was 
established beyond question. Mr. Mayhew's position was 
not regarded as tenable by the majority of people at that 
time ; but it is worth noting that the regents adopted essen- 
tially the same view, a few years later, when they finally 
opened the doors of the institution to the free admission ot 
women. 

The subject of co-education or of equal educational ad- 
vantages for women was discussed frequently and earnestly 
at the meetings of the State teachers' association for fifteen 
years. The first extended debate occurred in 1855, at Ann 
Arbor. Upon the question whether the University should 
be open to women, or a separate institution should be estab- 
lished for them, there was considerable diversity of opinion ; 
it was generally assumed that the courses of study in the 
University would necessarily have to be considerably modi- 



igS REPORT TO THE REGENTS, 1859 

fied if ladies were admitted, and fears were expressed that 
the standard would thereby be lowered. The idea of iden- 
tical co-education was not, at that time, generally entertain- 
ed, nor was it supposed that both sexes would be taught in 
the same classes in all subjects. The extension of the elec- 
tive system has removed some of the difficulties then antici- 
pated, and the natural progress of events has removed others. 

One who desires to understand the views and perplexities 
of intelligent, candid, and conservative men in Michigan, 
forty or fifty years ago, should read a report made by a 
committee of the Board of Regents, in t8.S9 "pon the peti- 
tion of certain young women to be permitted to enter the 
University. The report was written in a most admirable 
spirit, and treated the subject in all its bearings in a manner 
entirelv dispassionate. The conclusions of the committee 
were adverse to the request of the petitioners on grounds of 
expediency, but the right of women to equal advantages for 
higher education was fully admitted. 

On the influence of this report President Haven said in 
1867, "Since that time, I believe, no superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction in the State, no board of visitors, nor other 
authorities appointed to investigate the affairs of the Uni- 
versiy, have recommended a departure from the policy es- 
tablished from the beginning." Of the results which would 
follow the admission of women, he said : "I am confident 
that such a change could not be made without a radical revo- 
lution, that would require a large expenditure of money and 
give a totally new character to the University, and infalli- 
bly be attended with a temporary breaking up of its pros- 
perity." He favored the establishment of a separate col- 
lege for women which should give them aU the facilities en- 



VIEWS OF PRESIDENT HAVEN 197 

joyed by young men. 

During the same year the Legisature resolved: "That 
it is the deHberate opinion of this Legislature that the high 
objects for which the University of Michigan was organized 
will never be fully attained until women are admitted to all 
its rights and privileges." 

This put a new aspect upon affairs ; and in his report of 
the following year, Dr. Haven, after referring to this reso- 
lution and to his previously expressed opinions, stated that 
he had come to the conclusion ''that the best method for 
Michigan would be to make provisions for the instruction 
of women at the University, on the same conditions as men." 
He took a more cheerful and hopeful view of the probable 
consequences than he had taken the previous year. He 
said: *'I have come to this conclusion slowly; a few objec- 
tions have sometimes seemed to me strong, but the most of 
what is urged against it is fanciful, and partakes of the na- 
ture of the thoughtless opposition made to what is new. 
The standard of education would not be changed, the habits 
of study would not be affected. The honor of the Univer- 
sity would be increased rather than diminished." President 
Haven, more than most men of his rank, was exempt from 
that false notion of consistency which forbids a man to ac- 
knowledge that he has changed his opinion, or that circum- 
stances may justify a change of policy. 

Two years later, on the fifth of January, 1870, the govern- 
ing board of the institution resolved, ''That the Board of 
Regents recognize the right of every resident of Michigan 
to the enjoyment of the privileges of the University; and 
that no rule exists in the University statutes for the exclus- 
ion of any person from the University, who possesses the 



198 WOMEN ADMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY 

requisite literary and moral qualifications." This ended a 
struggle which had continued for five and twenty years. 
All State educational institutions in Michigan, from the low- 
est to the highest, are open on the same conditions to both 
sexes. 

Attempts have been made to claim special credit and spec- 
ial honor for particular individuals or particular organiza- 
tions in bringing about this result. Many individuals are 
entitled to great credit and to grateful remembrance, for 
their efforts towards securing equality of educational rights 
and privileges for women; but preeminence cannot with jus- 
tice be claimed for any one person. The end was attained 
by the combined labors of the friends of justice and of ra- 
tional progress. It is a natural outgrow^th of the spirit of 
the asre. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

AS TO MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 

The religious instinct or sentiment is one of the most fun- 
damental and powerful elements in the human soul, and in 
human society. The question of the origin of this sentiment 
is not important for our present purpose ; its existence and 
influence must be recognized. 

The men of today are prone to judge the men and meas- 
ures of a half century ago by the standards and conditions 
of the present decade ; to forget the changes which have oc- 
curred, the liberalizing influence of a broader and more gen- 
eral culture, the humanizing effects of more intimate inter- 
course and acquaintance between people of all classes, of 
all sorts, and of diverse opinions and races. Some one has 
said:* "It is all well enough for us of another generation 
to wax wise with advice to those who bore the burden and 
heat of the day." It indicates our superior wisdom, and 
gratifies our self-complacency. This tendency is not want- 
ing among the workers in the educational field ; occasionally 
it manifests itself in an offensive form. 

In the organization of public school systems, in the man- 
agement of public institutions of learning of all grades, in 
the selection of oflicers and instructors, and in educational 
affairs generally, it has been a necessity, in the not very 
remote past, to take this religious sentiment into account; 
and the time has not yet come when it can with safety be 
entirely ignored, whatever may be the affirmations of a sur- 

199 



200 VIEWS OF SUPERINTENDENT PIERCE 

face philosophy and of men with no profound personal con- 
victions upon the subject of morals or religion. 

The founders of the Michigan school system wisely recog- 
nized these obvious truths. In his first report Superintend- 
ent Pierce said : "It is not to be expected that the study of 
theology, as a profession, can ever be made a separate de- 
partment of the University. * * * * But so far as the 
great principles of the science of theology are concerned, 
they necessarily come within the compass of that general 
knowledge with which every well educated young man ought 
to be acquainted." 

The first legislative act for the organization of that in- 
stitution provided for a Professorship "of moral philosophy, 
and natural theology, including the history of all religions." 
So much Mr. Pierce believed to be essential to the continued 
existence of the University. While no religious test should 
be allowed, and no sectarian dogmas should be inculcated, 
yet Christianity, as the religion of the people, should be 
fully and freely recognized. He wrote: "The fact is not 
to be concealed that there is a strong prejudice in the minds 
of many worthy and enlightened men against State institu- 
tions. This feeling has originated from the attempt of 
two or three States to exclude everything in the form of re- 
ligion from their universities. The moral sense of the com- 
munity was found to be against the plan, and the institu- 
tions could not flourish. The truth is, the nature of man is 
such that this result might have been anticipated. There 
is a medium between bigotry on the one hand, and atheism 
on the other, and the success of the University, its life, 
energy, character and usefulness, will essentially depend on 
that medium course." 



POSITION OF THE REGENTS 201 

The board of regents recognized the wisdom of this me- 
dium course in providing teachers for the "branches," and 
also in selecting Professors for the University itself. It was 
necessary, moreover, to avoid giving offense to one sect by 
an appearance of favoring some other. ''Sectarian opinion 
and sectarian feeling were far sharper in 1837 than they 
are in 1900," and had to be reckoned with in the manage- 
ment of all public educational institutions. 

In an early report of the regents, written probably by Mr. 
Schoolcraft, a gentleman of national reputation and not a 
clergyman, when speaking of the selection of instructors, he 
said : "It was conceived that the requirements of the act 
and the duty of the board in this respect would not have 
been fully performed by merely obtaining instructors of 
competent literary and natural abilities, disconnected from 
their moral influence, both in the branches and the com- 
munities in which they are located, and it has ever consti- 
tuted an object to find men both as principals and subordin- 
ates, who united sound learning and apt judgment, and 
practical piety. Of the seven branches established, five are 
under the direction of clergymen,* and two of laymen, of 
various religious denominations. Two clergymen are also 
embraced among the assistants and tutors, the whole number 
of whom add to their literary qualifications those arising 
from religious considerations. The board cannot, they be- 
lieve, be mistaken in the importance they attach to the 
connection between learning and morals, science and reli- 
gion ; and at any rate, they would be unjust to themselves 
not to express the belief that success can not permanently 
crown the institution committed to their management, after 
this ligament is severed." 



202 VIEWS OF DR. DUFFIELD 

In a report of the following year, Dr. Duffield, one of the 
most prominent and influential men of his denomination, 
wrote: "Whatever variations of sect exist in the United 
States, the great mass of the population profess an attach- 
ment to Christianity, and, as a free people, avow themselves 
Christian. There is a common ground occupied by them all, 
sufficient for co-operation in an institution of learning, and 
for the presence of a religious influence, devoid of any sec- 
tarian forms and peculiarities, so essential, not only as the 
most efficient police, but also for the development and for- 
mation of the most valuable traits of youthful character, and 
qualifications for future usefulness. Experiments made in 
other States, by catering to morbid prejudices of sectarians, 
have only embarrassed the institutions of the State and 
matured the growth of numerous and rival colleges, avow- 
edly sectarian. Attempts made to exclude all religious in- 
fluence whatever from colleges, have only rendered them 
the sectarian engines of an atheistical or infidel party or 
faction, and so offended and disgusted the majority of the 
population agreeing in their respect for a common Christian- 
ity, that they have withdrawn their support, confidence and 
patronage, and left them to drag out a miserable existence, 
till they invoked the presence and influence of the Christian 
religion in them." 

These extracts have reference to the management of in- 
stitutions of advanced and secondary instruction. The same 
considerations, however, had equal weight, at that period, 
in the management of elementary schools. Such schools 
had their origin in the early Christian church, and were for 
a long time controlled by its ministers. The instruction 
given in them was more religious than secular or literary. 



RELIGION IN THE EARLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 203 

In our own country, during the colonial period, they were 
as much parochial as public, and their character did not 
change immediately when the colonies became States. "They 
were under the constant and vigilant supervision of the 
ministers. The minister was a town officer, as the teacher 
was. He was employed for the religious instruction of the 
people, and the children were a most important part of his 
charge. So he visited the school regularly; frequently 
questioned the children on the sermon of the preceding 
Sunday, and periodically examined them in the catechism 
and in their knowledge of the Bible. Sometimes the chil- 
dren were required to go to him for this purpose. The 
ministers regarded this relation not only as a duty, but as 
a right."* In Massachusetts, and in some others States, the 
first school books were the Bible, the Psalter, and the fam- 
ous New England Primer. In some of the schools the 
Shorter Catechism was regularly used. Gradually the 
Spelling book and some Reader took the place of these for 
reading purposes, although more or less of religious in- 
struction continued to be given for many years. 

In the older States no controversies concerning religious 
instruction in the schools took place so long as the people 
generally belonged to the same church and accepted the 
same creed. But the springing up of new sects, with con- 
flicting articles of faith, changed the aspect of affairs. Re- 
ligious teaching and exercises which favored one sect at 
the expense of another began to arouse vigorous opposition. 
The contention, at first, was not between the friends and the 
enemies of religion or of the Bible, but between dififering 



* Martin's Evolution of the Massachusetts Public School System, 
page 64. 



204 CONDITIONS IN THE OLDER STATES 

denominations. It was not the question of the Bible in the 
schools, but of sectarian interpretations of Biblical doctrines. 
As an unavoidable result, relig-ious instruction in the public 
schools gradually ceased, and unfortunately moral instruc- 
tion and training, in many cases, ceased at the same time. 
It was not believed that morals could be taught apart frc^ni 
religion. The reading of the Bible was continued in the 
majority of the schools, although the question of its use was 
beginning to be agitated. 

vSuch was the condition of affairs in Massachusetts in 
1837, when Horace Mann became Secretary of the newly 
created Board of Education, and "The Common School Re- 
vival" began. Similar conditions existed in other States, 
and especially in the State of New York. Michigan, just 
organizing her school system, could not escape the influence 
of these conditions. The population of the new State was 
mostly of New England or New York origin. Of the one 
hundred members of the constitutional convention of 1850, 
eighty-one were natives of New England and New York. 
They had brought with them their inherited and acquired 
opinions and prejudices. Doubtless new surroundings and 
new associations tended to modify these to a considerable 
extent, but it needed only slight provocation to kindle up 
the smouldering embers into fierce flames. Mr. Mann soon 
found himself under a fire of sharp criticism upon the reli- 
gious question and a bitter and prolonged controversy fol- 
lowed. No extended account can be given here of the con- 
flict, but it is necessary to refer to it briefly for the better 
understanding of conditions in Michigan. Dr. B. A. Hins- 
dale writes : "The struggle that now ensued in Massa- 
chusetts was the first of its kind witnessed in the country. 



CONTROVERSY IN NEW YORK 205 

Since that day it has been repeated in many other States. 
Nor can it be confidently predicted that it will not be re- 
peated again. In fact, in some form, more or less active, 
this struggle has been going on from that day to this. The 
issue is confessedly a most important one. It involves noth- 
ing else than the question of adjusting the State school to 
the whole existing system of agencies by which the religious 
training of children is carried on, the family, the Sunday- 
school, and the church."* 

In the end Mr. Mann was sustained by a great majority 
of the people of the State, a law was enacted which, with a 
slight modification, remains still upon the statute book, re- 
quiring the Bible to be read daily in all the public schools 
of that Commonwealth. Children may be excused from 
taking part in this exercise at the request of their parents. 

The controversy in New York arose under different cir- 
cumstances, and took a different form, but it was fully as 
bitter as in Massachusetts and more protracted. The vital 
question involved was the distribution of the proceeds of 
the public school funds and school taxes among the various 
religious denominations and organizations to be used for 
the support of parochial and other sectarian schools. Some 
of the most prominent public men of the State, among them 
Governor Seward, favored such a distribution. The de- 
mand, however, for such division was rejected. The legis- 
lative act for the settlement of the controversy contained 
this provision: ''No school shall be entitled to receive any 
portion of the school moneys, in which the religious doc- 
trines or tenets of any particular Christian or other reli- 



*Hinsdale's Horace Mann and the Common School Revival, 
page 214. 



2o6 CONDITIONS IN MICHIGAN 

gious sect shall be taught, inculcated, or practiced, or in 
which any book or books containing compositions favor- 
able or prejudicial to the particular doctrines or tenets of 
any religious sect "^'^ * * * But nothing herein contained 
shall authorize the Board of Education to exclude the Holy 
vScriptures, without note or comment, or any selections there- 
from, from any of the schools provided for in this act."* 

It was inevitable that the echoes of these angry conflicts 
should be heard in the forests of the new State. The most 
imminent danger was that jealousy should be aroused be- 
tween dififerent religious bodies ; the demand for purely sec- 
ular schools was not yet a source of disquiet. This would 
be heard in due time. It was the part of wisdom to avoid, 
as far as possible, all occasion for controversy, to provoke 
no disputes or conflicts, which, whatever, might be their 
termination, could not fail to work serious harm, if not posi- 
tive disaster. Hence the wise and cautious conservatism 
of Superintendent Pierce and his immediate successors, and 
the careful prudence of the regents of the University. 

Neither in the first nor in the second constitution of the 
State does the article on Education make any reference to 
religion or to moral and religious instruction. In what may 
be called the bill of rights, the constitution of 1835 provides 
for freedom of worship, forbids taxation for the support of 
ministers or teachers of religion, and declares that "no 
money shall be drawn from the treasury for the benefit of 
religious societies, or theological or religious seminaries," 
and that the rights and privileges of individuals shall not 
be affected in any w^ay by their religious opinions or beliefs. 



*Ranclairs History of the Common School System of New York, 
page 138. 



CONDITIONS IN THE UNIVERSITY 207 

The constitution of 1850 contains, in substance, the same 
provisions, with a special provision that the Legislature 
may authorize the employment of a chaplain for the State 
Prison; but forbids the appropriation of money to pay for 
religious services in either house of the Legislature. 

The early utterances of Superintendent Pierce and of the 
regents of the University have been noticed ; it remains to 
follow the course of subsequent events and measures. The 
authorities of the University have never formally announced 
any definite policy upon religious questions, but hav^ con- 
tinued to follow, in the main, the course outlined by Mr. 
Schoolcraft and Dr. Duffield. They have received criti- 
cism, sometimes because there was too httle religion, as it 
was charged; and at other times because there was, in the 
opinion of the critics, too much. While this is not intended 
to be a history of the University, a little further reference 
to this particular phase of its history seems necessary to 
our purpose. 

In 1857, the representatives of one of the largest of the 
religious organizations of the State, in their yearly meetings, 
made deliverances of which the following are the main 
points: "The University of Michigan has heretofore re- 
ceived high commendation from the ministry of our church, 
but we are sorry to say that many of its friends have their 
fears that its moral and religious condition is such as great- 
ly to impair its usefulness. It is for the future to show 
whether it shall be a safe abode for the sons of Christian 
parents during the most important period of their educa- 
tion. We are compelled to fear that it is so defective in 
those moral and religious restraints and influences which 
ought always to be thrown around students of literary in- 



2o8 ATTACK UPON THE UNIVERSITY 

stitiitions, that it can not be patronized by our citizens with- 
out imminent peril to the moral and religious character of 
those youths who may be sent there for instruction, and 
until there is a decided improvement in this respect, we must 
say to the Christian public, beware !" 

This was the most serious direct and public attack ever 
made upon the university touching the question of moral 
and religious influence. Coming from such a source it 
could not, at that time, have been safely ignored. The re- 
gents* requested the President and faculties to report to 
them, as far as practicable, *'the moral conduct of the stu- 
dents attending the university, and the means employed to 
impress upon them sound moral and religious principles." 

A report was accordingly made, drawn up with evident 
care, temperate in its language, and excellent in its spirit. 
This document is of special historic interest as indicating 
the peculiarly sensitive state of the public mind, at that time, 
upon the religious question, and also the means then em- 
ployed to inculcate moral and religious principles. Among 
other things, it was stated that, as at other public education- 
al institutions of the State, "the Scriptures were read and 
prayers were offered every morning in the chapel of the 
University, that several series of public lectures had been 
given Sunday afternoons on the evidences of the Christian 
religion, and that weekly religious meetings were held 
among the students."* 

While the "Branches" of the University were in existence, 
it had been a rule that the exercises of each day should be 
opened "with the reading of the Scriptures and prayer," 

*Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for 1857. 



ATTACK FROM ANOTHER QUARTER 209 

and students were required to be present unless excused at 
the request of their parents. Generally the rules in relation 
to religious exercises at the State institutions were essen- 
tially the same as those in the denominational schools. 

Occasionally attacks have been made upon the State 
schools from a different quarter. They have been charged 
with teaching too much religion and exerting an influence 
too positively Christian. About the year 1873 a legislative 
committee investigated the condition of religious affairs at 
the University, in respect to such a charge, but found no 
occasion for alarm or criticism. Changed conditions and 
doubts as to the real value of required attendance upon cer- 
tain formal "exercises" of a character more or less religious 
and ethical, have gradually led to the abandonment of such 
required attendance in most State institutions, and in some 
cases to the practical abandonment of these exercises alto- 
gether. Touching the wisdom of this course a difference 
of opinion exists among men equally desirous that the in- 
fluence of a school shall be decidedly on the side of sound 
morality and of practical religion. The growth and activity 
of voluntary organizations, such as the Y. M. C. A. in 
which students and teachers can, to a considerable extent, 
cooperate, may have fully supplied the place of the old-time 
official requirements. At any rate the experiment will have 
to be tried. 

The history of ''the religious question" in connection with 
the elementary and secondary public schools of the State 
must be briefly considered. Some of the conditions in these 
schools were similar to those in the older States ; other con- 
ditions were very dift'erent. The population was less hom- 
ogeneous, and the diversity of opinions was, if possible, even 



2IO ACTION OF SUPERINTENDENT SAWYER 

greater. No one sect had acquired, as in Massachusetts, 
a sort of prescriptive and traditional claim to an exclusive 
or at least a predominant influence in the management of 
the public schools. The claims of one sect were as valid 
as those of any other. There was no authoratative dead 
past to fetter the free activity of the Hving present. Old 
beliefs, old modes of thought, old habits of action, old 
school books, and old modes of management were all here, 
but thev were inextricably intermingled. The immediate 
need was a spirit of mutual respect ; a readiness to yield as 
well as to demand, a full recognition of the great law of 
doing as one would be done by. The fact that a large ma- 
jority of the people had not passed the period of middle 
life made all this easier. 

The opinions and recommendations of Superintendent 
Pierce have already been referred to. He was succeeded in 
1 84 1 by Franklin Sawyer who held the superintendency two 
vcars. Some premonitions of a possible storm were seen 
and heard here and there, and Mr. Sawyer thought it wise 
to make himself acquainted with the actual condition of 
affairs and with the sentiments of the people throughout the 
State. In a circular issued in 1841, he asked these, among 
other questions, of the school directors : "Is religious in- 
struction inculcated in your school? If so, what kind, sec- 
tarian or otherwise? What religious books are used?" In 
referring to the replies received, Mr. Sawyer says : "While 
a certain amount of religious instruction is encouraged in 
many schools, sectarianism finds no admission. This re- 
mark, it is believed, can be made without an exception ; at 
least such is the tone of all the reports which have reached 
this office. The extreme sensitiveness on this point, as 



REPORTS FROM SCHOOL INSPECTORS 211 

betrayed in the numerous replies, argues a healthy state of 
public opinion. * * ^^ * A school without moral instruc- 
tion, lacks the essentials of a right education, as evidently 
the school open to sectarianism exceeds them. No system 
can be perfect that is not based upon the great practical re- 
quisites of Christianity — "Do unto others as you would 
have others do unto you, and love thy neighbor as thyself." 
At a little later period Mr. Sawyer propounded these in- 
quiries to the school inspectors of the State : "To what ex- 
tent are morals inculcated in the schools? Where would 
you draw the line between moral training and religious cul- 
ture, so as to avoid the evil of sectarianism, and at the same 
time give to the youthful heart a right direction?" The 
Superintendent quoted freely in his report from the answers 
received, and occasionally commented upon them in his own 
peculiar and entertaining style. It was universally agreed 
that sectarianism should not be tolerated, but evidently there 
was a difference of opinion as to what constituted sectarian- 
ism. Mr. Sawyer wrote : "One thinks that morality should 
be inculcated," and that "to love and serve God should be 
taught both by precept and example ; but in order to avoid 
sectarianism, no portion of the teacher's time should be de- 
voted to prayer or exhortation while engaged in school." 
Another, "that the best way to avoid the evil is, to exclude 
sectarian books from school." A third, "that it may be done 
by teaching the precepts of the Bible, and leaving the pupil 
mostly to his own understanding of them, without comment 
by the teachers." A fourth recommends a "general rever- 
ence for the Supreme Being." A fifth would have "the 
great moral law of God brought before the children, and 
have them early taught that the Bible is of divine revelation, 



212 OPINIONS OF SCHOOL OFFICERS 

and that, if its principles are carried out by us, it is more con- 
ducive to our happiness and the happiness of others, than 
any other rule of action." A sixth, ''would never meddle 
with morals and religion, but teach the difference between 
right and wrong, by reasoning with the children." A sev- 
enth ''would keep morals and religion at home and in the 
Sabbath school." * * * • * A tenth thinks that the pious 
teacher can not do less "than to exhort his pupils to observe 
the Sabbath, abstain from profane language, be careful al- 
ways to speak the truth, read the Bible, regard its precepts, 
acknowledge God in all their ways, believing He will direct 
their steps, and likewise have a portion of the Word of God 
read every day in the school, and a prayer offered to Him 
who heareth prayer for guidance and direction." * * * * 
A twelfth recommends "the ten commandments and the 
sermon on the mount." A thirteenth would have the teach- 
er avoid sectarianism, but "present to his scholars the lead- 
ing principles of God's law and the peculiar characteristics 
of the plan of salvation through a crucified Redeemer, and 
impress upon the young and tender mind the necessity of 
repentance and faith, and becoming reconciled to God with- 
out delay." A fourteenth, while expressing his opposition 
to sectarianism, is not "settled how far Universalists and 
Infidels should be regarded." These excerpts are interest- 
ing as indicating the opinions of the ordinary men in the 
school districts at that time. Mr. Sawyer says in conclu- 
sion : "In excluding sectarianism from all schools supported 
by the public purse the cardinal virtues must not be banish- 
ed ; without virtue no system of instruction can perfect its 
work. If the teacher is fit to be placed over a school, he 
will, by precept and by his own exemplary conduct, teach 



VIEWS OF SUPERINTENDENT COMSTOCK 213 

all that the most rigid morality can ask. More than this 
would be trenching on forbidden ground; less would be 
conclusive evidence of unfitness for his place." 

Oliver C. Comstock who became Superintendent in 1843, 
in speaking of subjects to be taught and the books to be used 
in the public schools, said : *'It will be seen that the under- 
signed has placed on the lists of books to be used in the pri- 
mary schools, the New Testament and the Bible Reader, a 
book made up of selections from the Bible. He, moreover, 
thinks that the Bible should be daily and reverently read in 
the school by the teacher. This exercise may be accompan- 
ied with prayer, or this may be omitted, according as the 
character of the teacher and his sense of duty shall indicate. 
In this recommendation, he is only walking in the footsteps 
of multitudes of the most distinguished teachers of schools, 
and supervisors of education in Europe and America. Since 
however, the course here recommended, has been opposed, 
and has evoked much earnest discussion, he may be indulged 
in giving it more than a mere passing notice." Mr. Com- 
stock then goes on, at considerable length, to give his rea- 
sons for recommending the daily use of the Bible in the 
schools. He believed "all consistent moral and religious 
character depended upon the instruction derived from the 
Bible and upon the influence of that book. He believed 
that the God of the Bible honored those who regarded his 
laws, and that He commanded the teaching of its precepts 
diligently to the young; that children should be educated 
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." He regarded 
the style of the Bible, its language as unparalleled in its 
purity, simplicity and majesty. "In didactic argumentation, 
forensic eloquence, and sublime poetry it is superlatively 



214 CONDITIONS IN DETROIT 

excellent. In whatever light, therefore, we consider the 
Bible, whether for its historic information, its doctrinal pre- 
cepts, or for the unrivalled excellency of its composition, 
we perceive its commanding claims on the serious and habit- 
ual attention of teachers and scholars." 

- The first serious conflict upon this subject occurred in the 
City of Detroit. In a brief sketch of the public schools of 
that city, written by D. Bethune Duflield and published in 
the State Superintendent's report for 1851, it is said: "About 
three years after the schools were fairly started, and just 
as they commenced taking form and shape, the board were 
called to encounter a storm which came near wrecking the 
whole system, and which, but for the prudent and temperate 
management of those then entrusted with the interests of 
the schools, must necessarily have resulted most disastrously 
to the permanent educational interests of our city. I refer 
to our first encounter with that perplexing, yet all important 
subject, the proper introduction of the Bible into the public 
schools." The contest continued with great vigor and with 
not a little acrimony for several months. "The religious 
feeling of the citizens was thoroughly aroused in reference 
to the matter, and the lines openly drawn between Protest- 
ants and Catholics. Petitions with innumerable names 
poured in upon the board, some asking positively for the 
introduction of the Bible as a text-book in the schools, and 
others soliciting the very contrary, and insisting upon its 
total exclusion. So high did the excitement rise that many 
citizens on both sides of the question did not hesitate openly 
to declare, that unless their particular views were carried out 
in this matter, they would gladly see the entire school system 
broken up and swept away from our city. After this in- 



ACTION OF BOARD OF EDUCATION 215 

temperate zeal of many had in a measure abated, the board 
proceeded to the discharge of their duty by calmly acting 
on the question, and settled the whole difficulty by the adop- 
tion of the following resolutions : 

1. "That it is the opinion of this board that there is 
nothing in their rules and by-laws at all conflicting with the 
right of any teacher in the employment of this board, to 
open his or her school by reading, without note or comment, 
from any version of the Bible they may choose, either Cath- 
olic or Protestant. 

2. That any teacher who shall in any way note, com- 
ment, or remark in his or her school, upon passages of 
Scripture, shall be removed from his or her school, upon 
the proof thereof being made to the committee of his or 
her school — the decision of said committee being subject, 
however, to review by the board. Thus was this threaten- 
ing peril avoided, the influence of the Bible fully preserved 
in the schools, and the school system itself saved from the 
ruin which seemed at first impending over it." 

Referring to this excitement in Detroit, Dr. E. O. Haven, 
in his autobiography, writes : ''The University of Michigan, 
being at the head of the educational system of the State, 
naturally felt the influence of the excitement, and I, there- 
fore, delivered a discourse on the subject in Ann Arbor, in 
which I took the ground, now so commonly occupied, that 
the State had no right to teach religion by compulsion in 
the public schools. The discourse attempted to show that 
public schools should be unsectarian and teach no religious 
doctrine seriously objected to by the parents of any of its 
pupils. It was printed in full by the papers, and was said 
much to allay the excitement." 



2i6 DEMAND FOR DIVISION OF SCHOOL FUNDS 

In 1853 an effort, similar to the one in New York, was 
made to secure a division of the proceeds of the primary 
school fund among the various religious bodies to be used 
for the support of parochial schools. A memorial was ad- 
dressed to the Legislature and all possible influence was 
exerted to accomplish the desired purpose. The memorial 
stated that the signers, "have labored, and are still laboring, 
under grievances to which neither justice nor patriotism 
required longer submission." They were taxed for the sup- 
port of schools which they could not conscientiously allow 
their children to attend. Consequently, in addition to the 
taxes which they paid to support the public schools, they 
were obliged to tax themselves for the education of their 
own children in other schools. The idea which these peti- 
tioners entertained of free schools was peculiar and worthy 
of note. They said: "Schools can be free only when the 
business of school teaching be placed on the same footing 
as the other learned professions ; when all may teach who 
will, their success depending, as in other cases, on their fit- 
ness for their profession, and the satisfaction they may ren- 
der to the public ; that in all cases the parent be left free to 
choose the teacher to whom he will entrust the education of 
his child, as he is to choose his physician, his lawyer, etc. ; 
that each person teaching any public school in the State 
should be entitled to draw from the public school fund, such 
sums as the law might provide, for every child so- taught, 
by the month, quarter, or otherwise, on producing such evi- 
dence as the law might require in such cases. Schools es- 
tablished on such principles are what your petitioners under- 
stand by free schools." 

A bill was introduced into both branches of the Legisla- 



REPORTS IN THE LEGISLATURE 217 

ture providing for such division of the funds, and referred 
to the proper committees. The Senate committee agreed 
upon a report, and set forth their reasons for rejecting the 
bill The House committee failed to agree, and two reports 
were presented, the majority report being adverse to the 
prayer of the memoriaHsts. The report of the minority 
gave, in extended form, considerations and arguments which 
led to the conclusion that the bill should be enacted into a 
law. 

The general spirit of this document may be estimated 
from a few excerpts, all that space will allow. It was said : 
''Without in any respect entering into any questions, in eith- 
er doctrine or manners, between the members of the various 
religious denominations, and between them all and those 
who have no religion, the fact can not be concealed that the 
doctrines and religious ceremonies of the many Protestant 
denominations are held by the Catholic church to be utterly 
subversive of morals, and utterly damning to the soul. And 
those skeptics, neither few nor without commanding posi- 
tion in society, look upon all these systems of religion as 
mere superstitions, the relics of a darker age ; while they 
are equally abhorred by the more devout of all 
religious denominations. Since these differences must 
run through the whole system of education, it will be im- 
possible to educate the children of such differing parents 
together without doing great wrong to some or all of them." 
The report admitted that some difficulties would be met in 
carrying out the provisions of the bill in sparsely populated 
portions of the State, but these might be overcome as read- 
ily as other difficulties incident to a new country. The bill 
did not command a large siipport, and no serious subsequent 



2i8 DISCUSSIONS IN TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION 

effort has been made in that direction. 

Several very earnest and protracted discussions of the 
question of the use of the Bible in the schools and of reli- 
gious instruction took place in the meetings of the State 
Teachers' Association. At a meeting in 1854 in Detroit 
a committee made an extended report closing with a series 
of resolutions characterized more by partisan zeal than by 
practical wisdom. After a short debate the whole matter 
was referred to another committee instructed to report at 
the next meeting of the association to be held in August of 
the same year at Marshall. The importance attached to 
the subject -is indicated by the composition of this commit- 
tee, which consisted of Hon. Ira Mayhew, the Superintend- 
ent of Public Instruction ; Dr. E- O. Haven of the Univer- 
sity ; Principal A. S. Welch and Prof. J. F. Gary of the nor- 
mal school ; and Rev. C. A. Leach. The committee were 
unable to agree and two able reports were presented, one by 
Dr. Haven, the other by Prof. Welch. 

Dr. Haven took the ground that no religious instruction 
of any kind should be given in the State schools, and that 
the Bible should not be read if a single resident of a district 
objected, nor should prayer be offered, since religion might 
be taught indirectly by prayers. As already indicated, the 
controversy, at that time, was largely between the zealous 
Catholics and the equally zealous Protestants. 

Prof. Welch's report favored the use of the Bible, and the 
giving of instruction "in those religious principles upon 
which the government of the State was founded." 

The discussion upon the reports was long, vigorous, and 
at times excited. Among those participating in the debate, 
were Hon. Levi Bishop of Detroit, and J. VanArman, Esq., 



ANOTHER DISCUSSION 



219 



a prominent lawyer of Marshall, both of whom strongly 
advocated the use of the Bible. Dr. Haven was the princi- 
pal speaker upon the other side, supported by Rev. Mr. 
Trowbridge of Marshall. It was remarked at the time that 
the attorneys, though not professedly relio^ious men, advo- 
cated the use of the Bible, while several of the distinguished 
clergymen present opposed such use under existing condi- 
tions. A tolerably full report of this discussion may be 
found in Vol. I, of the Michigan Journal of Education. 

A second somewhat extended debate occurred at the 
meeting at Pontiac in 1859, less excited than the one in 
1854, but still very earnest. Among the speakers was Hon. 
J. M. Gregory, then Superintendent of public instruction. 
In the course of his remarks he said : *'No danger threat- 
ens the common school system so much as that of not being 
able to retain there sufficient moral influence to render them 
safe resorts for our children. The schools are not now im- 
moral, but there is a necessity for a higher moral training; 
the moral training of the school should be higher than that 
of the ordinary family or the street. It is feared that we 
can not introduce moral instruction enough to save them. 
The question of the right of religious instruction in the 
schools can not be easily settled, nor is agitation made pro- 
ductive of any good. There is little danger of teaching sec- 
tarianism. A danger a hundred fold greater is, we shall 
injure the schools by attempting to keep religious instruc- 
tion out of them. There can be no neutrality. We must 
either gather in or scatter abroad. If we want to keep reli- 
gion out of the schools, we must keep religious men out of 
them. He wished to direct public attention away from the 
remote danger of sectarianism to the immediate, practical, 



220 CONTINUED DISCUSSION 

and urgent one, that the school will be deprived of all re- 
ligion." 

At the conclusion of the debate it was resolved unanimous- 
ly : "That we believe the education of the moral faculties 
to be one of the fundamental principles of instruction — that 
upon this education rests the happiness and prosperity of 
the State; and we recommend the daily reading of the 
Bible in our public schools." 

This topic came before the association once more at Sagi- 
naw in December, 1869. 'The immediate occasion of the 
discussion was an excited state of feeling produced by the 
then recent action of the school board of Cincinnati embod- 
ied in the resolution: "That religious instruction and the 
reading of religious books, including the Holy Bible, are 
prohibited in the common schools of Cincinnati, it being 
the true object and intent of this rule to allow the 'children 
of the parents of all sects and opinions in matters of faith 
and worship, to enjoy alike the benefits' of the common school 
fund." 

Prof. Joseph Estabrook delivered a carefully prepared ad- 
dress, and brief but earnest remarks were made by several 
of the leading members of the association, generally favor- 
ing the use of the Bible in the schools. 

Among other things bearing upon the question, Mr. Esta- 
brook said : "The question now forced upon our considera- 
tion is not whether the Bible shall be introduced into our 
public schools ; but, being already in them, whether it shall 
be continued or excluded. There is a wide and important 
difference between the two questions. The Bible in our 
schools is the symbolical recognition of our Christianity. 
The removal of it announces a national religious change. 



VIEWS OF PROFESSOR ESTABROOK 221 

* * * * Christianity has entwined itself around our 
very national life ; it has embedded itself into our literature 
and like an atmosphere pervades all our institutions, so that 
to remove it from them were to lay the axe at the very root 
of our national being. The reason why this Bible has had 
a place upon the desks of our public schools is because it 
has been recognized as the text-book of American civiliza- 
tion — the corner-stone on which our fathers built — the foun- 
tain of a conservative, healing, purifying influence in our 
commonwealth. The exclusion of the Bible is only the first 
step in the fearful descent to blank godlessness, a total di- 
vorce from our systems of instruction of every thought that 
connects the finite with the infinite, and a mortal with his 
immortal destiny. >!<*** What is the significance of 
this movement? Is the Bible a dangerous book to the youth 
of our country? Does it inculcate an impure or defective 
morality?" These extracts indicate the view and feelings 
of a very large part of the most prominent educators of that 
period. At the close of the discussion the following resolu- 
tion was adopted without dissent : "That we believe the 
Bible should not be excluded from our public schools, and 
that such exclusion would not, in our opinion, render the 
schools more acceptable to any class of our citizens." 

No extended debates upon the religious question, or upon 
the use of the Bible in the schools has taken place in the 
meetings of the association during recent years. But the 
importance of moral instruction and training has been fre- 
quently urged in papers and addresses. 

The conviction is growing in the minds of most thought- 
ful men and women that the schools generally are not doing 
all that is desirable in the way of ethical instruction and 



222 QUESTION NOT SETTLED 

training-; but what method shall be adopted to secure such 
instruction and training has not yet been determined. The 
question of providing for teaching morals and of the use 
of the Bible, and of opening exercises of a semi-religious 
character in the schools, is wisely left to be determined by 
local school officials, or by the teachers, in view of local con- 
ditions and sentiment. The natural result is that great di- 
versity of usage is found in the State, and in many cases no 
appreciable moral or religious influence is exerted by the 
schools. This is to be regretted ; but it is not easy, with 
existing public sentiment, to prescribe a remedy which may 
not prove worse than the evil. Some practical solution of 
this perplexing problem may be hoped for in the not very 
remote future. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, AND 
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

Michigan was the first of the states to make a superin- 
tendent of public instruction a constitutional officer. Legis- 
lative enactments had previously created such an officer in 
two or three cases. The constitution of 1835 provided for 
a superintendent, but left his powers and duties to be deter- 
mined entirely by law. The constitution of 1850 only added 
the provision that he should have "the general supervision 
of public instruction." Superintendent Shearman, in 1852, 
wrote : ''The framers of the constitution looked to the 
superintendent for a general supervision, not only of pri- 
mary schools, but of the university, colleges, academies, 
high schools, and all schools established throughout the 
state. True, the immediate government of these institu- 
tions was to be confided to the management and control of 
local officers, adapted to the character and wants of each, 
but over all, as representing the guardian watchfulness and 
interest of the State, was intended to be the general officer 
of Public Instruction, accumulating all the material of this 
congregated effort, and laying it, in embodied form, before 
the tribunal of the people and their legislatures; devising 
and maturing plans for improvement ; requiring full infor- 
mation in every particular relating to the annual condition 
and progress of all these institutions; impressing the im- 

223 



224 DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 

portance of education by public lectures and personal visi- 
tations in the various counties and districts ; infusing life 
and zeal, and spreading information among all ; and from 
advantages of position in acquiring knowledge, ensuring 
progression in all that relates to educational, intellectual, and 
moral achievement." It is probable that the earliest State 
superintendents had somewhat exalted ideas in relation to 
the dignity and prerogatives of their office. If so, evidently 
the legislative body, whose province it was to determine the 
extent of their powers and to prescribe their duties, labored 
under no delusion in the matter. The educational legis- 
lation of the first two decades evinces a constant disposition 
on the part of the legisators to reserve to themselves the 
ultimate decision, as far as possible, of every important 
question. 

The first duties imposed upon the superintendent were 
necessarily of a temporary nature and related chiefly to the 
organization of the school system. These were indicated 
in chapter four. After the organization of the system, until 
the establishment of the Land Office in 1843, the time and 
attention of the superintendent were devoted mainly to the 
care of the lands donated to the State for educational pur- 
poses and to the management of the funds derived from the 
sale of these lands. As this was a temporary condition of 
afl:'airs, no details of the character of the work done need 
be given. The duties were altogether inappropriate to an 
officer charged with "the general supervision of public in- 
struction." Superintendent Shearman was correct in stat- 
ing that ''The disposition of lands and the management of 
funds granted for the support of education" were not within 
the original purpose of the superintendency. 



OUTLINE OF DUTIES 



225 



The plan of extending the supervising authority of the 
superintendent over the University, although well meant 
and not inconsistent with a State system of education em- 
bracing all grades of schools, resulted in friction, and in 
more or less serious conflicts of authority. Superintendent 
Pierce's connection with the management of the affairs of 
the University saved that institution, at one period, from a 
great, if not irreparable, disaster. Nevertheless, the re- 
gents naturally became restive under the restraint which 
his cooordinate authority imposed, and the University was 
at an early period, made exempt from the official supervis- 
ion of the superintendent. That officer was thenceforth free 
to devote himself to the development and improvement of 
primary and secondary education in the State. 

The revised statutes which followed the- adoption of the 
constitution of 1850, made the superintendent's powers and 
duties essentially the following: 

1. To prepare and transmit to the Legislature, through 
the governor, an annual report containing a statement of 
the condition of all the educational institutions of the State ; 
an account of the expenditures of school money ; plans for 
the improvement of the educational system and the manage- 
ment of the educational funds ; and such other matters re- 
lating to his office and to education as he deemed expedient. 

2. To make abstracts of the reports of school officers; 
to cause the school laws to be printed and distributed, with 
forms necessary for the transaction of school business, and 
instructions to school officers relative to the organization 
and management of schools and relative to the studies to 
be pursued in them ; to annex to the laws a list of books 
best adapted for use in the primary schools, and also a list 



226 BOARD OF EDUCATION 

suitable for township libraries, with rules for the manage- 
ment of libraries. 

3. To apportion annually to the cities and townships the 
income of the primary school fund, and to make all necessary 
arrangements for its proper distribution. These were, in 
substance, all the duties imposed upon the highest education- 
al officer of the State. They were mainly clerical, and in- 
volved only very limited authority. The functions of the 
superintendency were, at this time, reduced to the lowest 
terms ; from this point we shall anticipate an increase in 
powers and responsibilities. 

The legislative acts of 1849 establishing a normal school, 
created a Board of Education of three members, to be ap- 
pointed by the governor with the consent of the senate, and 
with the superintendent of public instruction and the Lieu- 
tcnant Governor, ex-officio members, the superintendent be- 
ing secretary of the board. The consolidated act of the next 
year added the State Treasurer who was also to be the 
treasurer of the board. This was the first permanent addi- 
tion to the duties of the superintendent, and opened to him 
a wide field of labor entirely germane to the original pur- 
pose of his office. 

The convention of 1850 made the Board of Education a 
constitutional body, its members being elected by the people 
for a term of six years. The superintendent was continued 
as a member and secretary, thus, in effect, being made the 
executive officer of the board. The only original function 
of the board was to locate, organize, and control the normal 
school. Other duties might be prescribed by law, and all 
added duties increased by so much the sphere of labor and 
influence open to the superintendent. 



REPORT ON THE SUPERINTENDENCY 



227 



Until 185 1, the office of the superintendent had been mi- 
gratory, being usually at his residence wherever that hap- 
pened to be. He had not, except in special cases, been 
authorized to employ an assistant or a clerk. Gradually the 
official and necessary un-official correspondence became bur- 
densome, and occupied the larger part of his time. More- 
over the compensation was very meager, the salary from 
1845 to 1849 being only $500 a year. The esteem in which 
the department of public instruction had come to be held 
may be inferred from the report of a legislative committee 
at the session of 1850. The report said : "The department 
of public instruction ought to be regarded as second to none 
in the State government. The duties of it follow every 
family in the State to its very fireside, and invite them to 
an interested cooperation in labors of great importance to 
the well-being of the State. The performance of such du- 
ties by the head of such a department, demands the employ- 
ment of talents of a high order and of the utmost business 
activity. The report of the superintendent shows a diligent 
attention to a great variety of duties, and which must have 
involved an amount of labor for which the compensation 
allowed by law is a most inadequate remuneration. Your 
committee, therefore, take leave to express the hope that 
this injustice will be suffered to exist no longer; but that 
a greater efficiency in the office may be secured by placing 
it, in regard to compensation of the incumbent, on the same 
level with other State Officers, whose duties are neither more 
important nor onerous. It is hoped that the head of a de- 
partment so important as this will no longer be regarded as 
a clerkship of little responsibility and but inconsiderable 
labor." The new constitution, adopted in that year, fixed 



228 NEEDS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 

the annual salary of the superintendent, and several of the 
other state officers, at one thousand dollars, thus placing 
him, in this respect, on a level with his associates. 

A DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT. 

In 185 1, by an act of the Legislature, the State Library 
room was appropriated to the use of the superintendent as 
a permanent office, and the librarian was directed "to per- 
form such duties as may from time to time be required by 
the superintendent, free of expense to the State." In his 
report for 1854 Superintendent Shearman stated that it 
was indispensable to the efficiency of his labors that there 
should be (i) an office at Lansing appropriated solely to 
his use; (2) a deputy superintendent; (3) an educational 
journal under his supervision; and (4) authority to settle 
questions arising under the school laws. As Mr. Shear- 
man was just closing his term of office, his recommendations 
could not be attributed to personal considerations of any 
kind. The recommendation that the superintendent should 
be authorized to decide questions arising under the school 
laws had been made by Superintendent Pierce, and had been 
urgently repeated by several of his successors. The super- 
intendent in New York had been clothed with such author- 
ity, and, with proper limitations, it seemed desirable that 
the Superintendent of public instruction in Michigan should 
have similar power. The Legislature, however, for some 
reason difficult to understand, has persistently refused to 
grant this. 

In his report for 1855 and '56 Superintendent Mayhew 
explained, at considerable length, the duties required of 
his office, the difficulties under which he labored, and the 



VIEWS OF SUPERINTENDENT MAYHEW 229 

urgent necessity for suitable accommodations in the way 
of rooms, and for a deputy. In closing he said : "I have 
endeavored to show the inadequacy of Legislative provisions 
hitherto made in this State, for the proper development ot 
the Department of Education, and to exhibit some of the 
advantages that would accrue to the interests of Education 
generally in the State, and to all our Reformatory and Be- 
nevolent Institutions, from strengthening the Department of 
Public Instruction, and giving to it greater scope and unity." 
Returning to this matter in the report of the next year, 
the superintendent said: 'It will be a proud day for the 
State of Michigan, when the Department of Public Instruc- 
tion is placed upon that elevated basis in regard to office 
labors to which the other departments of the State govern- 
ment have already attained, and when the superintendent 
shall be more free to engage in the appropriate functions of 
his office, in projecting and executing plans for the devel- 
opment and increased usefulness to the State, of our, in many 
respects, already admirable systems of public instruction." 
A brief reference to the condition of affairs at this period 
appeared necessary to a right understanding of the somewhat 
slow development of the educational department of the 
State. 

Finally in 1859 ^n act was passed authorizing the super- 
intendent to appoint a deputy and to revoke the appointment 
at his discretion. This, with the gradual increase of clerks, 
and the provision of good office rooms, placed the depart- 
ment of education on an equal footing with other depart- 
ments of the government. 



230- THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 

THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 

The act establishing the Agricultural College, passed in 
T855, placed that institution under the charge of the Board 
of Education, thereby greatly increasing the duties and re- 
sponsibilities of the Board and of the superintendent. Much 
to the relief of the Board, the control and supervision of 
the college were transferred, in 1861, to the State Board 
of Agriculture. 

In their report for that year the Board said : "The Board 
of Education repeatedly recommended that the affairs of 
the College be entrusted to a State Board of Agriculture to 
be organized for that purpose. ''' * ''' '^ In yielding the 
institution to its new guardians, the Board of Education 
congratulated themselves that they were able to present it 
not only virtually free from debt, but also with a settled pol- 
icy, reached after years of experiment. ^ ^ ^ ^ With 
the expression, therefore, of their high regard for the gen- 
tlemen of the Faculty with whom their intercourse has been 
so invariably pleasant, and of their hope that the college, 
under its new guardianship, may reap an ever growing suc- 
cess till it shall meet the high aims and expectations of its 
founders, the Board of Education take their final leave of 
this branch of their trust." 

BOOKS EOR LIBRARIES. 

In 1859, as stated in another connection, the Legislature 
made it the duty of the Board of Education to select lists 
of books suitable for township and district libraries, and to 
contract with responsible parties to furnish these books to 
school officers at stipulated prices. For some years this 



INSTITUTES AND TEACHERS' CERTIFICATES 231 

duty imposed a large amount of labor upon the Board, and 
especially upon the superintendent. 

te:ache:rs' institutes. 

The Institute law of 1855 imposed upon the superintend- 
ent of public mstruction the duty of holding a number of 
teachers' institutes each year, and of making all necessary 
provisions to render these of practical value in the prepara- 
tion of instructors for the public schools. The law of 1877 
increased very largely the labors of the superintendent in 
this direction ; and subsequent enactinents have added still 
further requirements. 

STATE teachers' certificates. 

The law of 1867, creating the county superintendency, 
authorized the State superintendent to grant certificates, 
on any evidence of fitness satisfactory to himself, licensing 
the holders to teach in any of the public schools of the 
State, the certificate being valid until revoked by him. This 
law was repealed in 1875. 

In 1879 an act was passed empowering the Board of Edu- 
cation to grant State certificates after thorough and critical 
examination of candidates. This act, revised and amended, 
still remains in force. 

questions for teachers' examinations^ etc. 

By an enactment of 1879 ^^^ State Board of Education 
was directed to "prepare questions suitable for the exami- 
nation of teachers for the various grades of certificates pro- 
vided by law to be given to teachers of the State," and the 



232 QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATIONS 

State superintendent was instructed to furnish these ques- 
tions to all officers authorized to examine teachers. 

The intent of this act was to make an approach toward 
uniformity in the examination of teachers throughout the 
State; but, unfortunately for this purpose, the examiners 
were not required to use the questions so prepared, and 
many of them did not do so. 

An amendment to the county examiners' law, made in 
1887, directed the superintendent of public instruction to 
prepare all examination questions and send them under seal, 
to the examining officers. The inplication is that such ex- 
aminers must use these questions and no others. Slightly 
changed in form, this provision is still in force. In all mat- 
ters pertaining to their official duties, the county commission- 
ers are subject to rules and regulations prescribed by the 
superintendent. 

The establishment of additional normal schools, and the 
natural growth of the educational system of the State, have 
very largely increased the labors and responsibilities of the 
Board of Education and of the Department of public instruc- 
tion. For many reasons the enlargement of the board by 
the addition of two members would be desirable. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

SPECIAL INSTITUTIONS OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY 
EDUCATION. 

Only brief sketches of these institutions will be given, 
enough to indicate their purposes and character. 

THE STATE AGRICUIvTURAL COEEEGE. 

The State Agricultural College, the pioneer institution of 
its kind in the United States, is usually and properly classed 
among the institutions of higher learning; but during the 
early period of its history a considerable portion of its 
courses of instruction, aside from what was purely profes- 
sional, fell within the province of secondary education. The 
terms of admission prescribed at first, were that applicants 
"should pass a good examination in the branches embraced 
in a common school education, namely, arithmetic, geogra- 
phy, grammar, reading, spelling, and penmanship." 

The original purpose was to have a close connection be- 
tween the rural schools and the college, and the same purpose 
is still kept in view. A recent statute requires the college 
to admit, without further examination, students who have 
a diploma or certificate signed by the county commissioner 
of schools, certifying that they have completed satisfactorily 
a course of study prescribed by the superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction for district schools, which course must in- 
clude the studies required for a third grade teacher's certifi- 
cate. This creates an organic connection between these 

233 



234 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COLLEGE 

schools and the college, and obliges the college to make pro- 
visions for some secondary instruction. 

The college was established in obedience to a requirement 
of the constitution of 1850, and the act providing for its 
organization bears date of February 12, 1855. "^^^^ insti- 
tution is located on a farm of six hundred and eighty-three 
acres, situated about three miles east from the capitol in 
Lansing. At first the management of the college as stated 
elsewhere was committed to the State Board of Education, 
but since 1861 it has been under the control of the State 
Board of Agriculture. 

The first buildings were dedicated, with appropriate ser- 
vices on the 13th of May, 1857, and the first term opened 
immediately afterward. When established the college had 
no endowment fund, and for several years depended for its 
support entirely upon legislative appropriations, sometimes 
granted grudgingly and after much debate. The Congres- 
gressional act of 1862 donated to Michigan 240,000 acres 
of public lands for the endowment of an agricultural and 
mechanical school. The proceeds of the sale of these lands 
have created a trust fund, which, on the 30th of June, 1900, 
amounted to about $850,000. The income of this at present 
is about $70,000. The college, also, received during that 
year, $25,000 from the United States government. It has 
now a larger permanent endowment than any other educa- 
tional institution in the State. The influence of the institu- 
tion has been largely increased by a system of farmers' in- 
stitutes, conducted each year by members of the faculty 
under the general direction of the board of agriculture. 

The value of the grounds, buildings, apparatus, library, 
etc., was estimated at $800,000 in the year 1903. The num- 



SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF 235 

ber of Professors and other teachers was 66 ; the number of 
students, 960 ; the number of graduates, 62 ; and the number 
of vohmies in the hbrary, 23,000. The successive Presi- 
dents of the College have been Joseph R. Williams, Theoph- 
ilus C. Abbot, Edwin Willits, Oscar Clute, Lewis G. Gorton, 
and Jonathan L. Snyder. Lewis R. Fiske, and George T. 
Fairchild were each for a time acting President. 

THE SCHOOL I^OR THF, DEAF. 

The present constitution directs that institutions "for the 
benefit of the deaf, dumb, and blind" shall be fostered and 
supported. Two years prior to the adoption of this consti- 
tution the Legislature passed an act to establish an asylum 
for the deaf, dumb, and blind. Under the provision of this 
act the deaf and blind were educated in the same institution 
up to the year 1880, from motives of economy, as there is 
no natural relation between the methods of instructions and 
management of the two classes. The school was opened at 
the City of Flint in 1854, occupying, for a time, a small 
rented building. The first regular building for the institu- 
tion was not ready for use until 1856. During the first term 
twelve children were received, eleven deaf and one blind ; 
the number increased during the second term to seventeen 
deaf and four blind. 

The Principals of the school, in succession, have been Mr. 
B. M. Fay, Mr. E. L. Bangs, Mr. J. W. Parker, Mr. Thomas 
Maclntyre, Mr. F. A. Piatt. The chief officer, since 1882, 
has been designated Superintendent, and the Superintend- 
ents have been Mr. D. H. Church, Mr. M. T. Gass, Mr. 
Thomas Monroe, and Mr. Francis D. Clarke, who has filled 
the position since 1892. 



236 GROWTH OF THE SCHOOL 

The growth of this institution has been as rapid as the 
means at the disposal of the managers allowed. In 1865 
there were 94 pupils; in 1883, 271; in 1893, 294; in 1903, 
410. Number of graduates in 1903, 16; whole number of 
graduates, nearly 1,400; number of instructors in 1900, 34. 
Value of grounds, buildings, library, etc., $518,134.27. The 
school is under the control of a board of three trustees ap- 
pointed by the governor, and is supported by legislative ap- 
propriations. The number of deaf children of school age 
in the State is between ten and twelve hundred. 

Of the studies and instruction in the school for the deaf, 
the Principal says : "Our course of study runs pretty near- 
ly with that in the public schools except that our pupils 
start from a lower point, and it is not for some years that 
the studies are the same. Our great difficulty is to teach 
language. * * * * It is not till the fourth or fifth year 
that we can use the text-books prepared for normal children 
at all. If a boy or girl will stay with us during the whole 
course — thirteen years — we can graduate them about on an 
equality with the Junior class of our Michigan High 
Schools." 

In addition to the ordinary studies the pupils are taught 
to speak and to read the lips. In many classes speech is 
used constantly in the school room. Besides regular school 
work every student is taught a trade of some sort. Among 
these trades are cabinet-making, which includes all kinds of 
wood-working, glazing, painting, and some knowledge of 
upholstering and other related matters, shoe-making, tailor- 
ing, sewing, dress-making, house-work generally, drawing, 
designing, something of embroidery, engraving and etching, 
and printing. A small weekly paper is published, the work 



SCHOOL FOR THE BUND 237 

upon which is done by pupils. The intention is to send 
pupils out from school prepared to be self-supporting and 
something more. A considerable number of the graduates 
of the school have entered the Gallaudet college for the deaf 
at Washington, an institution supported by the National 
government, and have made good records there. By a law 
enacted in 1899, the Superintendent of public instruction 
is authorized and directed, under certain conditions, to grant 
permission to school boards of districts and cities to establish 
and maintain day schools for the deaf. The sum of one 
hundred and fifty dollars may be drawn from the State 
treasury for the instruction of each deaf pupil for a period 
of nine months in the year, and a proportionately less simi 
for a shorter period. Teachers for such schools must have 
special instruction in methods of teaching the deaf, and at 
least one year's experience in teaching in a school for the 
deaf. The so-called "oral" system must be taught in these 
schools. 

THE SCHOOL FOR THE BUND. 

As has been previously stated, the blind were taught m 
the same institution with the deaf until 1880. In September 
of that year a separate school for the blind was opened tem- 
porarily in a leased building at Lansing with thirty-three 
pupils in attendance. Subseciuently the leased property, 
with forty-five acres of land, was purchased by the State, 
and the location of the school was made permanent. Grad- 
ually the buildings and other facilities have been increased 
until the school has become one of the best equipped and 
most efficient institutions of the kind in the country. 

The estimated value of the grounds, buildings, library, 



238 COURSE OF STUDIES 

etc., is $155,000. The number of instructors in 1900, was 
10, and the number of pupils during the year was 124. The 
board of control consists of three members appointed by the 
governor. 

The course of studies covers eleven grades and is very 
much like that of the ordinary graded school. The Princi- 
pal says : "We have a course of study comparing favorably 
with those of the best high schools in the State." He fur- 
ther says : ''An arrangement has been made by which some 
of our more advanced students may take certain studies in 
the city high school. '■' * * * And I have assurance 
from the authorities of our State University that if any of 
our graduates wish to enter that institution favorable con- 
sideration will be given to a diploma granted by this school." 

Various kinds of handicrafts are taught in the institution ; 
among those are sewing, cooking, broom-making, piano- 
tuning, and book-making. Quite an extended list of books 
has been printed at the school in the American Braille sys- 
tem ; many of these are of a high literary and scientific char- 
acter. 

The following paragraph from the last report of the 
school is worthy of consideration : "It is undoubtedly still 
true, as in the past, that there are more blind persons of 
school age in this State not availing themselves of the priv- 
ileges of this school than are enrolled in it. For the sake 
of these boys and girls themselves, for the sake of the public 
welfare and good government, this condition of things 
should be changed. A law making the education of the 
blind compulsory within reasonable limits, and with appro- 
priate penalties for those causing or permitting the neglect, 
would be eminentlv wholesome. 



INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS 239 

The successive Superintendents of the school have been 
James F. McElroy, W. G. Race (acting), George Barnes,- 
Robert Barker, Mrs. Josephine Pampell, John Fanning, Ed- 
ward P. Church, Warren C. Hull, and Clarence E. Holmes. 

THli) INDUSTRIAL, SCHOOI, FOR BOYS. 

This institution is located at Lansing, in the eastern part 
of the city, on a farm of 300 acres. There are thirteen 
buildings, exclusive of shops and barns, and the value of the 
property is estimated at something over $300,000. It was 
established by a legislative act of 1855, and opened for the 
reception of boys in September, 1856. The institution was 
originally called a "House of Correction for juvenile offend- 
ers" ; in 1859 the name was changed to "State Reform 
School," and later still it was again changed to "Industrial 
School for Boys." These successive changes of official 
designation indicate pretty clearly the progressive change 
and improvement in popular sentiment in relation to the pur- 
pose of the institution and the influence which it should have 
upon its inmates. At first a juvenile prison, with bars and 
grates, with high, unsightly fences and locks, the institu- 
tion has become an elementary and industrial school, with 
only so much of restraint and discipline as must necessarily 
be exercised where a large number of boys are brought to- 
gether for education and training into . habits of industry, 
regularity, self-control, and respect for law and order. Four 
and one-half hours per day are devoted to study and instruc- 
tion in common school branches, reasonable time is given 
for recreation and amusement, and regular labor is re- 
quired in some department of industry. As opportunities 
offer the younger boys are placed out in homes, careful pro- 



240 GENERAL WORK OF THE SCHOOL 

vision being made that they shall receive good treatment 
and suitable education. The Superintendent reports that 
but few of those thus placed out are returned to the school ; 
and of those who leave the institution, at the close of their 
period of detention, or earlier, as a reward for good be- 
havior, he testifies "that at least ninety percent become self- 
supporting, respectable citizens, and many of them leading 
business men." 

The boys are instructed and trained in almost all indus- 
trial employments. Among these are farming, carpenter- 
work, chair-making, shoe-making, tailoring, painting, and 
printing. 

The institution supports a very fine band of nearly thirty 
pieces, and an excellent chorus numbering usually twenty- 
five or thirty boys. At the date of the Superintendent's re- 
port for 1900, 670 pupils were enrolled. The number of 
course varies from month to month, the smallest number 
during the year 1899- 1900, being 590, the largest, 670. 
Since the opening of the institution 7,616 pupils have been 
received; of these 7,157 were white boys, 432 colored boys, 
18 Indians, i Chinese, and 8 girls. The largest numbers 
are brought to the school at the age of fifteen. From this 
age the number decreases regularly but slowly to the age 
of twelve, and then drops rapidly. 

The institution is supported by legislative appropriations, 
and is managed by a board of three persons appointed by 
the Governor, the Governor himself being a member, ex- 
officio. 

The Superintendents of the institution in order, have 
been : Theodore Foster, D. B. Nichol, Cephus B. Robinson, 
Charles Johnson, Frank M. Howe, C. A. Gower, W. H. S. 
Wood, J. E. St. John. 



INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR GIRLS 241 

THE INDUSTRIAL, HOME FOR GIRLS. 

The Industrial Home for girls was established by an act 
of the Legislature passed in 1879. It is located about a mile 
north of the City of Adrian, on a farm of 113 acres, and has 
at present nineteeri buildings of various kinds. The property 
is valued at $191,171.46. The institution was at first desig- 
nated as a ''Reform School for Girls," but^ as in the case of 
the corresponding institution for boys, th^ natural process 
of evolution, within a few years, gave it the present more 
agreeable and more helpful name. The school is arranged 
and conducted on the cottage plan, each cottage being undef 
the management of an experienced matron. The studies 
taught are those of the ordinary elementary school. "The 
girls are employed in the morning at housework, laundry, 
light work on the lawn and in the garden ; in the afternoon 
they attend school.'' Cooking is taught by a regularly 
trained teacher, and also dress-making and other industries 
appropriate to the design of the institution. To the year 
1903, 1,822 girls had been received into the house. Such 
as show by their good conduct that they can safely leave 
the school, are sent out on contract, or leave of absence. 
It is stated that ''an average of about no are out on contract 
leading good lives and doing well." The average number 
of girls in the institution, during 1900, was three hundred, 
and the number of officers and teachers was thirty-three. 
Not all who come to the school are thoroughly reformed ; 
this could not be reasonably expected. But many instructed 
there, "have gone forth into the world, are married and m 
1-tomes of their own, leading good lives. Quite a number 
are dress-making for a |i.virig, §ome are teaching, and sev- 



242 



STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL 



eral, having taken the course in nursing, are regular trained 
nurses. 

The school has thus far done good work, and is accom- 
plishing the purpose for which it was established with a 
good degree of success. 

The original act for the organization of the institution 
provided that "the general supervision and government 
should be vested in a board of control to consist of four 
women and two men, appointed by the Governor with the 
advice and consent of the Senate." This provision has 
been modified, and at present the board of control consists 
of two men and one woman. The support of the Home 
depends upon biennial appropriations of the Legislature. 

The successive Superintendents have been Emma Hall, 
Margaret Scott, and Lucy M. Sickels. 

THK STATi: PUBLIC SCHOOIv. 

In the year 1870, a commission appointed by the Governor 
visited many of the poor-houses in the State, and found a 
large number of children in them under the age of sixteen, 
mingled with older people, many of whom were disrepu- 
table in character. As a result of this in^xstigation an act 
was passed the next year providing for the establishment of 
an institution to be called the "State Public School for de- 
pendent children." The school was opened in May, 1874. 
By the original act the purpose of the institution was stated 
to be "the reception, care, education, and placing in family 
homes of all the dependent children of the State of sound 
body and mind, between four and sixteen years of age." 
The age limit has since been changed and made "between 
rs^^ P^A t-^'elve," with discretion on the part of the Board 



LOCATION AND ORGANIZATION 



243 



of control to receive children under one year. Some chil- 
dren have been taken into the school when but a few weeks 
old, and been placed in the "Baby Cotta.sre," so-called. 

Michigan claims the honor of having established the first 
public school of this kind. vSimilar institutions have been 
since organized by several other States ; and private institu- 
tions for essentially the same object have existed in all the 
Christian centuries. 

The school is located about a mile north from the City 
of Coldwater, in Branch county, on a farm of 160 acres. 
The 'location is a pleasant one, with a ''Picturesque prospect 
in every direction." There is an extensive garden ; a natural 
grove of five acres ; large play grounds, and an orchard of 
700 fruit trees. The surroundings of the children are thus 
made of the most desirable character. The equipment con- 
sists of a central administration building, a Superintendent's 
residence, a school house, nine cottages, and all other needed 
subordinate buildings. The cottages, in charge of carefully 
selected cottage managers, are the temporary homes of 
the children. The system of organization combines the fam- 
ily and the aggregate plans. The children attend school 
and have their meals together ; in other respects, the inmates 
of each cottage form a separate family. There is a kinder- 
garten for the youngest children, and the primary branches 
are taught to those old enough to attend regular classes of 
the elementary grades. Out of school hours, children of 
suitable ages are instructed in common daily labor in the 
garden and about the buildings. It is the policy of the 
managers to retain children in the school only until good 
homes can be found for them in private families somewhere 
in the State. To find such homes and place the children in 



244 



CARE OF THE CHILDREN 



them is the most important and valuable work of the insti-- 
tution. 

In order to carry out this purpose most effectually, an' 
officer is appointed by the board of control known as the' 
"State Agent" of the school whose duty is to find homes for' 
the children, and to make all necessary arrangements for' 
their proper care, protection, and education. The Superin- 
tendent of the school also has similar powers in this direc- 
tion. In addition to this, the Governor is authorized to 
appoint an agent of the State Bo*ard of Correction and Char- 
ities in each county whose duty is to provide for the pr6per 
"care of juvenile offenders and dependent children." When- 
ever necessary, this agent is to visit the nei,2:hborhoods and 
families where children have been placed, and the children 
themselves, and to ascertain whether the conditions of con- 
tracts are observed, and the children are receiving such at- 
tention and care as they need, and their best interests re- 
quire 

The provisions for the care and protection of the depend- 
ent children of the State, seem to be all that could be de- 
sired, and the management of the school has generally been 
of the most satisfactory character.- 

Up to the fifteenth of December, 1903, 5,378 children had 
been received into the institution, and at that date 170 were 
remaining there temporarily, until places could be found for 
them. The school is under the control of a board of three 
persons appointed by the Governor. In addition to the 
general Superintendent and a matron there are nine cottage 
managers and five teachers. 

The successive Superintendents have been Zelotes Trues- 
dell, Lyman P. Allen, John N. Foster, Wesley Sears, Chancy 



HOME FOR THE FEEBLE-MINDED 



245 



F. Newkirk, W. H. Wieand, A. N. Woodruff, A. J. Mur- 
ray, and John B. Montgomery. 

THE home: foR the; fe:e:bi,e-minde:d and EPiiyEPTic. 

By a legislative act of 1893 provisions were made for es- 
tablishing a Home for the Feeble Minded and the Epileptic, 
and the institution was opened in August, 1895. The home 
is located on a tract of 355 acres of land near the City of 
Lapeer, and is controlled by a board of three persons ap- 
pointed by the Governor. The purpose of the institution 
is "to provide, by all proper and feasible means for the in- 
tellectual, moral, and physical training of that unfortunate 
portion of the community who have been born or by disease 
have become, imbecile or feeble minded or epileptic, and by 
a judicious and well adapted course of training and manage- 
ment to ameliorate their condition and to develop as much 
as possible their intellectual faculties, to reclaim them from 
their unhappy condition and fit them, as far as possible, tor 
public usefulness in society." The Home is organized on 
the cottage system, and there are, at this time, twelve build- 
ings of various kinds. The number in the institution June 
30, 1900, was 282, and the total number received to that date 
was 353, 140 males, and 213 females. Besides the superin- 
tendent. Dr. W. A. Polglase, seventeen attendants and four 
teachers were employed at that time, with a necessarily 
large number of other laborers of various kinds. The Home 
is doing the usual work of institutions of its character, and 
is a proper adjunct of a system of public instruction. Wheth- 
er the feeble minded and the epileptic should be cared for 
in the same institution is a question open to debate and to 
future determination. 



246 DIFFICULTY OF CLASSIFICATION 

Mental defects and deficiencies are of all degrees, from 
the boy or girl who is merely more or less backward in de- 
velopment to the profound idiot who manifests scarcely any 
traits of human intelligence. Satisfactory classification is 
consequently extremely difficult. The classification adopted 
in the Michigan school is thus described: We have, ''first, 
the imbeciles of high, middle, and low grades, all of whom 
are teachable to a greater or less extent. Second, idiots, 
excitable or apathetic, who lack intelligence to attend to 
their simplest wants and are not improvable to any marked 
extent. Between these two groups we find children who 
have advanced a little mentally, but have soon reached their 
limits and remain stationary, who are termed idio-imbeciles. 
The imbecile classes are not only teachable, but may often 
be made exceedingly useful in occupations which are care- 
fully selected as best adapted to their most fully developed 
faculties." 



CHAPTER XIX. 
SOME GENERAL STATISTICS AND REFERENCES. 

Some statistics relating to special subjects have been given 
in previous chapters. A few are added here of a general 
character to indicate the rate and progress of development. 
It will be kept in mind that the statistics of the early years 
are only approximately correct. Reports from school offi- 
cials during that period were very imperfect, and in many 
cases no reports were made. The Superintendent was left 
to rely upon guesses and estimates, and those sometimes 
varied from year to year. The statistics of recent years 
are as trustworthy as similar statistics ever are, and, in 
many cases, much care has evidently been taken to secure 
correctness. 

tabi^e; re:lating to children. 





School 


School 


Children 


Estimated Child- 


Average length 


Year 






in Public 


dreii in Private 


of Schools in 




Ages 


Census 


Schools 


Schools 


months 






Reports 








1836 


5 to 16 


2.337 im- 
perfect 


2,337 


No Statistics 




18411 


5 to 17 


48,817 •' 


47.901 


No Statistics 




1850 


4 to 18 


132,234 


110,478 


No Statistics 




1860 


4 to 18 


246.802 


193,107 


4,708 (1S63) 


6.2 


1870 


5 to 20 


384,554 


278.686 


9,613 


6.9 
J ungraded— 7.3 


1880 


5 to 20 


506,231 


362.196 


18,854 


1 graded 9. ^ 

\ ungraded. — 7.7 


1890 


5 to 20 


654,502 


427,033 


33,975 


/ graded 9.5 

) ungraded— 8.17 


1900 


5 to 20 


721,698 


514,636 


52.239 


* graded 8.54 



*The apparent decrease in the length of the graded schools, as 
shown by the report of 1900, has resulted, in part, from the increase 
in the number of small graded schools. 

247 



248 



STATISTICS 



TABLt: RELATING TO TEACHERS AND WAGES. 





Teachers Employed 


Average Wnges per 
Month 


Total Amount 
Paid Teachers 




Men 


Womeu 


Total 
Number 


Men 


Women 




1845 
1850 
1860 

]8;o 

188(1 
1890 
1900 


1.214 
1,475 
3.599 
2, 193 
4.073 
3.561 
3,240 


1,839 
3,613 
5.344 
8,2:31 
9.877 
12,429 
12,684 


3.053 

4,087 
7.943 
11.014 
13.949 
15.990 
15,924 


$11.98 
14.14 
26.06 
52.63 
37.28 
46.76 
46.73 


$ 5.24 
6 46 
13.53 
27.31 
25.73 
32.75 
35.71 


$ 24.180.08 
37,730.03 
467,386.50 
1,398.328.59 
1,917.983 99 
3,326,287.04 
4,503,549.39 



TABEE SHOWING FINANCIAL CONDITIONS. 



Years 


Estimated Value of 
all School property 


Estimated Value of 
School Property in 
Graded Districts 


Total Expenditures 
for School Purpo- 
ses 


1860 
1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 


1 1,633,647 
6,234,797 
8,977,844 
13.858,637 
19,338,173 


$ 511,520.35 
3,895,287 
5,826,718 
9,540,702 

15,045,291 


(1863) $ 689,070.10 
2.789,553.78 
3,109.915.14 
5.698,808.84 
7,297.69145 



ADDENDA. 



Amount of Educational Trust Funds, June 30, 1901, 

given in the Auditor General's report: 

Primary School 7% Fund $4,122,832.63 

Primary School 5% Fund 877,575.68 

Total $5,000,408.31 

University Fund $ 536,748.81 

Agricultural College Fund 832,608.09 

Normal School Fund 67,842.62 



as 



EXPENDED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES 



249 



Money expended for educational purposes during the year 
1 90 1, by State Report: 

Rural and Graded Schools $8,395,019.05 

University of Michigan 565,953.54 

Agricultural College 235,620.68 

College of Mines , . . . 78,558.23 

State Normal College 96,864.58 

Central Normal School 66,418.15 

Northern Normal School 23,960.07 

School for the Blind 31. 112.20 

Industrial School for Boys 80,841.50 

Industrial Home for Girls . 52,228.68 

School for the Deaf 1 16,673.85 

State Public School 39,689.52 

Total $9,782,940.05 

REFERENCES AND AUTHORITIES. 

1. Territorial Laws. 

2. Proceedings of the Territorial Legislative Council. 

3. Reports of the Superintendents of Public Instruction. 

The reports of the first Superintendents were not publish- 
ed in separate volumes, but printed with the proceedings of 
the Legislature, and consequently are obtained with diffi- 
culty. The volume published by Superintendent Shearman 
in 1852, entitled "System of Public Instruction and Primary 
School Law of Michigan," contains brief synopses of the 
early reports, extracts from the messages of the Governors 
and from the reports of the Regents of the University and 
from other documents relating to education. It contains, 
also, much other historical matter relating to education in 
the Territory and State of Michigan. 

Among the reports, the first and second of Superintendent 
Pierce, are of especial historical interest, and also the report 



250 REFERENCES AND AUTHORITIES 

of Superintendent Shearman just referred to. The report 
for 1880 has a considerable amount of historical, biographi- 
cal, and statistical matter in addition to the usual annual 
compilations. 

4. The successive editions of School laws. 

5. Reports of the various public educational institutions. 

6. Proceedings of the State Teachers' Association and 
other educational organizations. 

7. The various documents published, from time to time, 
by the State educational department. 

8. Journal of the Constitutional Convention of 1850. 

9. History of Detroit by Silas Farmer. 

10. Pioneer Collections. 

11. The Michigan Journal of Education, 1854-1861. 

12. The Michigan Teacher, 1866-1876. 

13. The Michigan School Moderator, 1880, and other 
educational papers and periodicals. 

14. Higher Education in Michigan by Andrew C. Mc- 
Laughlin. 

15. Historical Sketches of Education in Michigan, from 
State report for 1880. 

16. Chart and Key of the Educational System of Mich- 
igan, compiled in 1876, by D. C. Jacokes. 

17. Michigan and its Resources, 1893. 

18. Michigan Semi-Centennial, 1886. 

19. History of the Michigan State Normal School, by 
D.' Putnam. 

20. Political History of Michigan, by Justice J. V. Camp- 
bell. 

21. Michigan, A History of Governments, by Justice T. 
M. Cooley. 

22. The Michigan Legislative Manuals. 

23. Reports of United States Commissioner of Educa- 
tion. 



APPENDIX. 
SCHOOL LEGISLATION OF 1903. 

Delay in the publication of this volume makes it possible 
to add a summary of the school legislation of 1903. 

The most important act relates to the establishment of 
Normal Training Classes. 

The enactment of this law marks a ''new departure" in 
the matter of preparing teachers for the rural schools. 
Probably experience will suggest some modifications in its 
provisions, which are in substance as follows : 

1. The Superintendent of public instruction is author- 
ized to grant permission for the establishment of a normal 
training class in any county of the State in which no normal 
school is located. Only one such class can be established 
in any county and only ten classes in any one year. The 
Superintendent prescribes the conditions under which per- 
mission will be granted. 

2. The classes are to be under the control of a County 
Normal Board composed of the State Superintendent, the 
County Commissioner of Schools, and the Superintendent 
of the schools with which the class is connected. In case 
the Superintendent should be county commissioner, the. 
board of education of the district in which the class is or- 
ganized, elects the third member of the county board. 

3. In order that a class may be established the people 
of the district must, by a majority vote, favor the proposi- 
tion, and the school board of the district must furnish con- 

251 



252 ^CHbOL LEGISLATION OF 1903 

venient rooms and satisfactory teachers. The Supervisors 
of the county must also favor the estabhshment of the class. 
The class must have at least ten members, and must be main- 
tained at least thirty-two weeks in the year. 

4. Applicants for admission to the class must be not 
less than seventeen years of age, of good moral character, 
and must pledge themselves to remain in the class for a year, 
and to engage in teaching upon graduation, either in the 
rural schools or in the lower grades of graded schools. 

5. Two courses of study are prescribed, one for one 
year, and one for two years, and the scholastic conditions of 
admission are prescribed. 

The courses are similar to those in the elementary normal 
schools, with the addition of elementary agriculture and 
domestic science. 

6. Certificates. 

Graduates from the one year course receive a certificate 
valid for three years, entitling the holder to teach, for three 
years, in any school in the county in which not more than 
two teachers are employed. 

Graduates from the two years' course receive a certificate 
valid for five years, entitling the holder to teach in any 
school in the county in grades below the tenth. 

Both grades of certificates are valid in any county or city 
in the State when endorsed by the authority which grants 
certificates in such county or city. 

The certificates may be renewed by the County Board. 

7. Support. 

Funds for the support of these normal classes are de- 
rived (i) from the State, (2) the County, and (3) the dis- 
trict in which the school is located. The State pays an- 



ADDITIONAL NORMAL SCHOOL 253 

niially $250 for each teacher employed in the school, pro- 
vided that the total appropriation to any one county for one 
school year, shall not exceed $1,000. Of the balance needed, 
the County pays one-half, provided that the amount paid 
by the County shall not exceed one-half of the amount paid 
by the State. The remainder is paid by the locality. 

AN ADDITIONAL NORMAL SCHOOL. 

An act was passed authorizing the State Board of Educa- 
tion to locate and organize a school to be known as the 
''Western State Normal School." The school is to be of 
the same general character as the other Normal Schools, 
and is subject to the control and management of the Board 
of Education. The Board has located the school at Kala- 
mazoo, and the buildings will be erected and the school or- 
ganized as early as the extent of the work will permit. 

POWERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION EN- 
LARGED. 

Hitherto the diplomas and certificates to be bestowed upon 
graduates of the Normal Schools have been prescribed by 
statute. At the session of 1903 an act was passed authoriz- 
ing the Board of Education to grant such diplomas and de- 
grees, and to issue such licenses and certificates to graduates 
as the Board may, from time to time, determine. 

This will probably result in some changes in the certifi- 
cates granted to the graduates from the different courses 
of study in the normal schools. 



254 INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND 

EMPLOYMENT INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. 

A law, partially educational in its character and purpose, 
was enacted establishing the ''Michigan Employment Insti- 
tution for the Blind." The purpose of the institution is 
to provide ''for the training, care and employment of adult 
blind persons of good moral character." The institution 
is located at Saginaw, and its control and management are 
vested in a board of three trustees, one of whom must be 
a blind person. The institution is to be "an industrial or 
polytechnic school and factory, a working home, and an 
employment and information bureau" with a circulating 
library and such other departments as may seem "wise and 
judicious." 

PAYING FOR THE TUITION AND TRANSPORTATION OF 

PUPILS. 

The following important act was passed, which has vital 
connection with the matter of consolidating rural schools 
and transporting children of all grades. 

"Any school district which maintains a school during five 
months of the year, having children residents therein who 
have completed the studies of the eighth grade in said school, 
may at any annual meeting vote a tax sufficient to pay the 
tuition and daily transportation, during school days, of said 
children to any high school which the school board of said 
district may select and designate." 

CHANGE IN TIME OF EXAMINATIONS. 

Regular examinations by the county examiners, for certi- 
ficates of all grades, are to be held at the county seat, on the 



TIME OF EXAMINATIONS 



255 



second Thursdays of March and August. 

Two other regular examinations may be held, at such 
places as the examiners select, on the third Thursdays of 
June and October. Only certificates of the second and third 
grades can be granted at these examinations. 

LIBRARIES. 

Some important improvements were made in the statutes 
relating to libraries, the details of which can be best learned 
by referring to the statutes themselves. 



-"^ SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. ^ 

THE STATE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. ^ 

The Legislative body in Michigan has been, ffom the iifst, 
very conservative in all matters felating to education. It 
has followed public sentiment, sometimes reluctantly, but 
has never taken the initiative in any important step of pro- 
gress. Consequently, the development of the school system 
has resulted mainly from the voluntary action of the people, 
either as individuals or through some organization. Of 
these organizations, the State Teachers' Association has 
been the most active and influential. For this reason, it 
seems appropriate to give a very brief sketch of the work 
of this Society. Frequent allusion has been made, in the 
preceding chapters, to specific actions of the association upon 
various subjects, but nothing further has been given. 

Educational societies of one sort and another had been 
formed prior to this State organization, but they had all 
been short-lived and had accompished very little. The pre- 
liminary organization of the present State Teachers' Asso- 
ciation was made on the 12th of October, 1852, at Ypsilanti, 
during the progress of a teachers' institute held immediately 
after the dedication of the first normal school building. The 
more formal organization was completed at a meeting held 
at the same place in March, 1853, when a constitution was 
adopted. Prof. A. S. Welch, the Principal of the Normal 
School, was elected president at the preliminary meeting 
and reelected after the adoption of the constitution. 

256 



EARLY MEMBERSHIP 257 

The constitution made no statement of the specific pur- 
poses of the organization, but left the executive board free 
to "arrange the order of exercises for the Association at 
each meeting," according to its judgment. Any person 
could become a member by subscribing to the constitution 
and paying the annual fee. It was not the intention of the 
founders of the association to confine its membership to 
teachers, or limit its field of activity by definite and narrow 
boundaries. They proposed to act in any direction in which 
action was most needed under the conditions then existing, 
and under conditions which might subsequently arise. 
Some of the most influential earliest members were not 
teachers in the strict sense of the term. 

During several years semi-annual meetings were held 
and much experimenting was had to determine the best 
time in the year for the annual meeting. The first three 
meetings were held in connection with teachers' institutes, 
the exercises of the association alternating with those of 
the institute. 

The first meeting without the adjunct of an institute was 
held in Detroit in April, 1854. Horace Mann and Henry 
Barnard were both present at this meeting, and Mr. Mann 
gave two of his most able addresses. 

Brief mention must be made of a few of those most 
prominent and active in the organization and management 
of the association during the early years of its existence. 

The organization of the association at that particular 
time and place was due to the efforts of Prof. A. S. Welch, 
then just appointed Principal of the Normal School. Mr. 
Welch was a native of Connecticut, came to Michigan at 
the age of eighteen, graduated from the yniyersity in 1846, 



258 INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS 

studied law and was admitted to the bar. His taste, how~ 
ever, led him to abandon the law and he became Principal 
of the union school at Jonesville. His success there caused 
his election to the Principalship of the Normal, a position 
which he resigned after thirteen years of hard labor, orr 
account of impaired health. For some years he was the 
central figure in the small group which controlled the 
affairs of the association. 

Miss A. C. Rogers, the first Preceptress of the Normal 
School, a w^oman of marked ability and great energy, was 
one of the first officers of the Society and rendered valuable 
services in the meetings for considerable time. Prof. J. 
M. B. Sill, so well known for many years in the educational 
work of the State, was one of the original members, as was 
also Prof. C. F. R. Bellows, for a long time at the head of 
the deparment of mathematics in the Normal School. 

Prof. Joseph Estabrook appears at the second meeting 
in 1853. A native of New Hampshire, a graduate of Ober- 
lin College in 1847, Principal of the Union School at Ypsi- 
lanti for thirteen years, Superintendent of East Saginaw 
Schools, Principal of the Normal School nine years, Re- 
gent of the University six years, Superintendent of Public 
Instruction four years, and lastly Professor in Olivet Col- 
lege, Prof. Estabrook was better known and more deeply 
loved than any other teacher in Michigan. 

At the third meeting Dr. J. A. B. Stone, the first President 
of Kalamazoo College, and Mrs. Stone, long time the able 
jiead of the female department of that college, became active 
members of the association. At the same time. Dr. E. O. 
Haven, later President of the University, and Prof. J. M. 
Gregory, afterwards State Superintendent for six yearSj 



JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 259 

and for several years more influential than any other man 
in directing the affairs of the association, appeared. 

At the fourth meeting Hon. Ira Mayhew, State Superin- 
tendent, Prof. J. F. Gary of the Normal School, Prof. 
Nichols of Detroit, Prof. A. Winchell of the University, and 
some others appeared for the first time. 

Among those who came into the association about this 
time were Professors E. Olney, T. C. Abbott, J. R. Boise, 
H. S. Frieze, O. Hosford, L. R. Fiske, and D. P. Mayhew. 
Lack of space forbids extended notice of any of these or 
the mention of others equally active. The present writer 
became a member of the Association at the meeting at Ann 
Arbor in April, 1855, when the organization was in the 
third year of its existence, and consequently had the good 
fortune to become acquainted with all the early members. 

In the remainder of this sketch, attention will be confined 
mostly to the action of the association on matters bearing 
upon the development of the school system and schools of 
the State. 

At the third meeting in September, 1853, after extended 
discussion, the Association voted to commence the publica- 
tion of a monthly paper, to be named The Michigan Journal 
of Education and Teachers' Magazine, and appointed a com- 
mittee of five to have entire charge of the publication. This 
committee consisted of E. O. Haven, A. S. Welch, J. M. 
Gregory, Mrs. L. H. Stone, and Miss M. Rockwell. Mr. 
Gregory was made resident and managing editor, and the 
first number of the Journal was issued from Detroit in Jan- 
uary, 1854. We can not trace the history of the Journal 
during the eight years of its existence. Our interest in it 
lies in the fact that, under the management of Mr. Gregor^j 



26o TOPICS DISCUSSED 

it was one of the most efficient agencies in pushing forward 
educational reforms. Through it the Association exerted 
a powerful influence in securing and shaping educational 
legislation. 

The question of the "Bible in the Schools," or the ''reli- 
gious question" was vigorously discussed at several meet- 
ings, beginning with the meeting in April, 1854. At the 
semi-annual meeting in August of the same year, the debate 
was continued, and at a later period the subject was again 
discussed. The action of the Association upon this subject 
tended to unify the opinions and practice of the teachers of 
the State, and to prevent the adoption of too radical meas- 
ures by either party to the contest. 

The establishment of union graded schools was strongly 
advocated by the Association during the period when such 
schools were in the experimental stage, and were encounter- 
ing vigorous opposition from the conservative forces in the 
community. 

The first law for the holding of teachers' institutes was 
secured by the State Superintendent through the earnest 
and vigorous assistance of the Association, and subsequent- 
improvements were obtained largely by the same assistance. 

In the efforts to obtain equal educational rights and op- 
portunities for both sexes, the Association bore an impor- 
tant part. The first extended discussion of the subject oc- 
curred at the meeting at Ann Arbor in April, 1855, and the 
agitation continued until the doors of the University were 
opened to women by formal action of the Regents on the 
6th of January. 1870. The war was waged for fifteen 
years, and the association may rightfully claim a large 
share of the honor in securing the final result. At the meet- 



TOPICS DISCUSSED 261 

ing following the action of the Regents, the Association re- 
solved : "That there is ample cause for congratulation 
among the friends of education, in the fact that since our 
last meeting, women have been granted full privileges with 
men in our State University and Agricultural College." 

In the protracted struggle to secure effectual school super- 
vision, the Association was especially active. At its semi- 
annual meeting at Jackson in December, 1855, the report 
of a committee previously appointed was discussed at length 
and a committee consisting of Professors Gregory, Boise, 
Welch, Levi Bishop, Esq., and Bradford Smith was appoint- 
ed with instructions to use all possible diligence to secure 
the enactment of the desired law. 

A committee was also appointed to prepare and present 
to the legislature a "Revision of the laws affecting the gov- 
ernment of the Union Schools." This committee was com- 
posed of the three eminent lawyers, Levi Bishop, E. C. 
Walker and S. L. Withey. 

The association made vigorous efforts to secure from the 
legislature an act appropriating a portion of the proceeds 
of the sale of "Swamp Lands" for educational purposes 
and appointed Professors Gregory, Welch and Dr. Stone 
to urge this upon the attention of the legislature. This 
object was secured at a later period. 

It may be a surprise to many to learn that the subject of 
"Township School Districts" was discussed by the Associa- 
tion as early as 1857, and the advantages of such districts 
were set forth in a paper prepared by Prof. Hubbard, then 
Superintendent of the Schools at Adrian. No formal action 
was taken but the paper was requested for publication. 

The report of the executive committee in 1858, after re- 



262 SERVICES OF THE ASSOCIATION 

viewing the educational progress of the past year, affirmed 
that no small share of this improvement was due to the 
efforts of the State Teachers' Association. Since the or- 
ganization of the association, the union school system had 
been carried rapidly forward, the wages of teachers had in- 
creased fifty per cent, and the teaching profession had "ac- 
quired a securer seat in the affections and respect of the 
people." The influence of the Society had extended to 
every school district in the State. 

The abolition of the "rate bill" as a necessary preliminary 
to making the public schools absolutely free, was earnestly 
advocated by the Association. For several years the Li- 
brary System received considerable attention, and frequen 
reports were made by the standing committee upon "Re- 
forms in School Laws." In i860, this committee recom- 
mended "the abrogation of school districts and the substi- 
tution of the tozvnship system, stating pretty fully and 
clearly the advantages which would follow from this change. 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction, in his report 
for 1859, gave emphatic testimony to the value of the ser- 
vices rendered by the Association in the development and 
improvement of the school system. He urged that the State 
could well afford to appropriate a sufficient sum to publish 
a volume each year made up of the papers and addresses 
given at the annual meetings. Later for some years, these 
were published in the annual report of the State Superintend- 
ent, but a mistaken notion' of economy led the legislature 
recently to limit the number of pages in the report so that 
no room remained for the proceedings of the Association. 

Up to the outbreak of he civil war, the Association had 
been largely guided by the "Fathers" of the organization, 



DECLINE OF INTEREST 263 

and its efforts had been directed more to the securing of 
reforms in school laws and improvements in methods of 
school administration than to the development of educational 
principles or the discovery of better methods of teaching, 
although those had not been altogether neglected. During 
the great war and for some time afterwards, the vigor and 
usefulness of the organization suffered some decline. 

The feeling existing among many of the most progressive 
teachers in the State was expressed by the editor of the 
Michigan Teacher in an article published in the October 
number of that journal for 1874. He wrote: ''The regular 
winter meeting of the State Teachers' Association will be 
held this year, of course — from the force of habit, if for 
nothing else. We suppose the program to be even now in 
the early stages of preparation. But if the meeting of this 
winter is to be as nearly barren of interest and results as 
most of the meetings of late years have been, it may about 
as well be omitted apart from the pleasant social opportuni- 
ties it will present. 'Vox et preterca nihil' — that is the gen- 
eral record. Even the annual publication, for the last two 
years, of the transactions in part, has hardly justified the 
existence of the Association, so far as the results have come 
to the surface. In no respect are we aware that the So- 
ciety has been a force in determining the educational legis- 
lation of the State, in fixing the character of its larger insti- 
tutions of learning, or even in the improvement of methods 
in the common schools. [This was not true of the Associa- 
tion during the first ten years of its existence.] In these 
views we are conscious of being at one with very many 
of our educators who have attended the meetings, or have 
been content to stay away and read the proceedings. * * * 



264 INFI.UENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION 

Without a 'new departure' it threatens to fall into absolute 
decay and worthlessness." 

The criticisms of the editor of the Teacher were partly 
true and deserved, but were altogether too sweeping. The 
Association had, at an earlier period, been a vigorous and 
well-directed power, and had been directly instrumental in 
securing a number of needed and important reforms and 
improvements in the school laws of the State. Unfortu- 
nately, for various reasons, it had fallen from its high posi- 
tion of influence, and required some radical changes and 
readjustments of its working machinery to adapt itself to 
the changed conditions of educational affairs in the State. 
There was, however, sufficient vitality in the organization, 
and a sufficiently clear comprehension of the demands of the 
times, to bring about the necessary modifications at no dis- 
tant time. 

On several occasions the Association secured, mainly by 
the private and judicious efforts of some of its leading 
members, the nomination of the man of its choice for the 
office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. It had in- 
fluence in the selection of members of the Board of Educa- 
tion. These educational offices had not then come to be 
regarded as subject to political bargaining, or political reg- 
ulations as to length of service. Hon. Witter J. Baxter 
served on the Board of Education nearly twenty-five years. 
Hon. J. M. Gregory held the office of State Superintendent 
six years, and would have been elected for another term if 
he had not absolutely refused to serve longer. Professor 
O. Hosford held the office eight years. It was an evil day 
when the doctrine of "rotation of office" and two terms only 
came to be applied to the Superintendency. 



BEGINNING OF IMPROVEMENT 265 

The fecovery from this condition dates from the meet- 
ing of 1874, since which time the association has enjoyed 
in general a steady growth in efficiency and usefulness. 

At that meeting, the report of the executive committee, 
written by the then President, said: ''During the last half 
dozen years there has been a growing impression that the 
association is not accomplishing all that it ought to accom- 
pHsh ; that it is not exerting the influence, which legitimately 
belongs to it, upon the educational institutions of the State ; 
that it is not, as it should be, a grand educational force, 
helping largely to fashion public sentiment, and direct pub- 
lic action." 

It was suggested that an effort should be made to enlarge 
the scope of the organization, and that the body should be 
divided, for convenience and efficiency of action, into ap- 
propriate sections or divisions. 

After considerable discussion, the executive committee 
was directed to make provision for carrying out the recom- 
mendations, of the report, as far as practicable ; to make in 
fact an essential change in the form of the organization. 
This meeting was generally regarded as introducing a new 
era in the history of the association. At the next meeting 
the plan was practically adopted and, with modifications 
from time to time, has continued to guide the management 
of the association. 

From this time on the work of the association has grad- 
ually taken a wider range, until it now includes discussions 
of subjects belonging to all grades of schools and all depart- 
ments of instruction. While improvements in the school 
laws and in the school system generally still receive attention, 
subjects and methods of instruction, courses of studies, the 



^(£ AiDDiTiONAL NAMES 0^ MEMBER^ 

unification of the diflferent grades of schools, the certifica- 
tion of teachers and the supervision of the work of teachers, 
and other related topics have received consideration. 

To the list of the earliest members of the association al- 
ready given, the names of others who became members a 
little later, most of whom are unknown to the present gen- 
eration, should be added. The list is not intended to be 
complete, but it includes most of those who were active in 
the association for considerable time. 

Dr. E. B. Fairfield, for many years President of Hills- 
dale College, lieutenant governor of the State for one term, 
still living at a ripe old age at Oberlin, Ohio ; E. J. Boyd, for 
some time Principal of a private school for girls at Monroe ; 
Ruth Hoppin, for a long while Preceptress of the Normal 
School at Ypsilanti ; John Goodison, for many years Pro- 
fessor in the Normal School ; C. L. Whitney, for a time 
one of the editors of the Michigan Teacher, who left teach- 
ing to engage in business ; 

E. Danforth, who left Michigan for a better position in 
New York ; D. B. Briggs, who later served two terms as 
State Superintendent ; Julia A. King, still active as a Pro- 
fessor of Histo'-y in the Normal College; 

John Richards, for some time Professor in Albion Col- 
lege ; E. P. Church, whose last work was in the school for 
the blind at Lansing; U. W. Lawton, still enjoying a quiet 
life at Jackson ; J. M. Ballou, later an efficient member of 
the State Board of Education; Lewis McLouth, long a 
Professor in the Normal School, still at work in the east; 
W. S. Perry, for many years Superintendent of the schools 
in Ann Arbor; E. A. btrong, still in active service as Pro- 
fessor in the Normal College ; 



I^IFTI^TH ANNUAL MEETING 267 

Duane Doty, for some time Superintendent of Schools 
in Detroit, later in Chicago ; Z. Truesdel, many years Super- 
intendent of schools in Flint, later first Superintendent of 
the State Public School at Coldwater; H. A. Ford, several 
years editor of the Michigan Teacher ; H. S. Wayland, Pro- 
fessor for a time in Kalamazoo College ; W. H. Payne, still 
serving a second period as Professor of the Science and 
Art of Teaching in the State University, for several years one 
of the most active and efficient members of the Association ; 
B. A. Hinsdale, who came into the Association at a some- 
what later period, and is still remembered for his efficient 
services in the University as well as in the Association. 
Space compels the omission of some other names of com- 
paratively early members, and of all who have become mem- 
bers in recent years. It is well that the "Fathers" be re- 
membered at lesst by name. 

The fiftieth annual meeting of the Association was held 
at Saginaw on December 29th, 30th and 31st, 1902. 

One session was devoted to exercises appropriate to the 
occasion. Three papers were read ; the first on "Educational 
conditions in 1852, and the Beginnings of the State Teachers' 
Association," prepared by D. Putnam ; the second by Austin 
George, upon "Some of the early active members of the 
Association" ; and the third by H. R. Pattengill on "Some 
Things which the Association has been influential in ac- 
complishing." 

It will be in harmony with the purpose of this sketch to 
quote a portion of Mr. Pattengill's paper. He said : 

"In the early part of its history, the influence of the Asso- 
ciation was very great indeed. For many years nearly all 
the legislation pertaining to educational matters was directly 



268 SUMMARY OF WORK 

the result of work done in this Association. Naturally, as 
the educational work of the State became established, the 
immediate results of the Association's deliberations were 
not so pronounced. Time permits us merely to cite in the 
most cursory manner the important features of its mighty 
work. It is of course, impossible to determine just how 
much influence one of several factors has in accomplishing 
a purpose, but it seems hardly possible for anyone who has 
made any study of the subject to doubt for an instant the 
Association's mighty influence in — 

1. Establishing an esprit dii corps among teachers. 

2. Elevating educational ideals. 

3. Introducing Michigan's foremost teachers to the 

teachers of the State, either personally or through 
their contributed articles. 

4. Bringing to Michigan educators of national promi- 

nence ; e. g. Horace Mann, Francis W. Parker, E. 
E. White, etc. 

5. Improving methods of teaching. 

6. Abolishing the "odious rate bill," and establishing 

free schools. 

7. Establishing an excellent system of high schools. 

8. Aiding the cause of co-edur^.tion in the State Uni- 

versity. 

9. Founding a "Journal of education," which in the early 

days was a valuable ally of the department of edu- 
cation. 

10. Fostering teachers' institutes. 

11. Securing better supervision of schools and examina- 

tion of teachers. 

12. Establishing and maintaining both district and town- 

ship libraries. 

13. Greatly improving the moral and religious instruction 

in the schools. 

14. Making the school month twenty days. 



PRESIDENTS OF THE ASSOCIATION 269 

15. Establishing normal schools and training classes. 

16. Securing good compulsory school laws. 

17. Promoting manual training, kindergarten, physical 

culture, music and drawing in the schools. 

18. Repealing the abominable law of State publication of 

text-books. 

19. Securing laws favorable to free text-books. 

20. Educating the people on rural high schools, consoli- 

dation of rural schools, and centralization." 

It will be readily conceded that the things enumerated in 
this list differ much in relative value, but in the main the 
enumeration is a just one, and the Association may right- 
fully be proud of its record of fifty years of labor. 

The Presidents of the Association during the first twenty- 
five years of its existence, to 1877, were the following: 

Principal A. S. Welch, Hon. John M. Gregory, Professor 
Joseph Estabrook, President James A. B. Stone, Superin- 
tendent Franklin Hubbard, Professor A. Winchell, Princi- 
pal E. J. Boyd, Professor E. L. Ripley, Professor John M. 
B. Sill, President E. B. Fairfield, Professor O. Hosford, 
Professor D. Putnam, Superintendent W. H. Payne, Pro- 
fessor D. P. Mayhew, Professor H. L. Wayland, Superin- 
tendent T. C. Abbott, Supermtendent Duane Doty, Princi- 
pal J. F. Nichols, President J. B. Angell, Superintendent 
H. S. Tarbell, Superintendent W. S. Perry, Professor C. 
F. R. Bellows, Professor Edward Olney. 

The general policy of the Association gave its presiding 
officers only a single term. In a few cases the rule was dis- 
regarded and a President was elected for a second term. 

It is to be hoped that the historian of 1952 will find 
abundant material to put to the credit of he Association in 
a summary of the work of a second half-century. 



INDEX. 

Additional Normal School 253. 

Affiliated Schools, 97. 

Agricultural College, 233. 

Angell, President, on Affiliation of High Schools, 95. 

Appendix 251. 

Blind, School for, 237; Superintendents of, 239; Employment Insti- 
tution for, 254. 

Boys, Industrial School for, 239. 

Cadillac on Education, 2. 

Cass, Gen. Lewis, 5, 10, 11, 13. 

Catholepistemiad, 5, 6. 

Certification of Teachers, early, 149; by Township Inspectors, 149; 
by County Officers, 151-154; Grades of Certificates, 153; 
by State Board of Education, 159; by Normal Schools, 160; 
by University, Colleges, and some Cities, 162; of Kinder- 
garten and Drawing Teachers, 163. 

Co-education, Sentiments of Teachers and Others as to, 1850 to 
i860, 191. 

Colleges, Charters of, etc., 44-48. 

Compulsory attendance, 122-125. 

Comstock, O. C, Views of, on Union Districts, 75 ; on Religious 
Instruction, 213. 

Conditions, School, at close of Territorial Period, 17. 

Constitutional Provisions as to Education, 23-33. 

Conventions, Constitutional, 22-25. 

Cooley, Justice, on First Territorial School Law, 4. 

Crary, Isaac C, Work of, for Schools, 20-25. 

Deaf, School for the 235-237. 

Principals of School, 235. 

District School, Officers of, 55, 65; Relation to other Parts of 
School System, 71-74; Increase of Resources, 116. 

Education, Importance of, 36; Equality of to Both Sexes, 184-198. 

Educational Funds, 248. 

Equality of Educational Rights, 184-198. 

270 



INDEX 



271 



Examination of Teachers and Certification, 149-163; Change of 
Time for, 254. 

Feeble-minded, Home and School for, 245. 

Free Schools, Views of Supt. Pierce on, 117; Debate on, in Con- 
vention of 1850, 26; Discussion by State Association, 120; 
in Detroit, 119. 

Frieze, Professor, on Affiliation of High Schools, 94. 

Funds, Educational, 248; Increase of, no; for Teachers' Wages, 
1 14 ; from the State, 108 ; from the Township, in; from 
the District, Village, City, 113; Table, 116. 

Girls, Education of, in Early Times, 185-190; in Territorial Period, 
190 ; in the Branches of the University, 191 ; Industrial 
Home for, 241. 

Government, Early Form of, in the Territory, 3; Modified, 10. 

Graded or Union Schools, Development of, 75-78; First in the 
State, 79. 

Gregory, Superintendent, on Courses of Studies, 99. 

High Schools, Authority to Establish, 88; Kalamazoo Case, 91; 
Established by Voluntary Action, 93 ; Affiliated with Univer- 
sity, 94-96; Languages in, 102. 

Home for the Feeble-minded, 245. 

Hosford, Superintendent, Views of, on Support of High Schools, 89. 

Industrial School for Boys, 239. 

Industrial Home for Girls, 241. 

Institutes .Teachers', 133-136. 

Journal of Education, 259. 

Kindergartens, Law for Establishing, 106; Teachers of, 163. 

Languages, Debate on Teaching of, in Convention of 1850, 28; 
Instruction to be in the English Language, 28. 

Law, First School in the Territory, 4. 

Libraries, Provision for, 57; Chapter on System, 176-183; Sum- 
mary of Present Provisions, 182; Legislation of 1903, 255. 

Manual Training, 106. 

Mayhew, Superintendent, on Graded Schools, 80. 

Mill Tax, 112. 

Monteith, Rev. John, 5. 

Moral and Religious Instruction, Chapter on, 199-222. 

Music Teachers, 163. 

Normal Schools, 136-142 ; Diplomas and Certificates of, 160. 

Perry, W. S., on High Schools, 89. 



2^2 INDEX 

Pierce, John D., 20-25. 

Preparation of Teachers, Chapter on, 128-148; Summary of Present 
Facihties for, 147. 

Principles, General, of Education as Stated by Superintendent 
Pierce, 42. 

Rate Bill abolished, 121 ; discussed by Teachers' Association, 262. 

References to Authorities, 249. 

Religious Question, Chapter on, 199-222; Views of Superintendent 
Pierce, 200; of Mrs. Schoolcraft, 201; of Dr. Duffield, 202; 
in Early Public Schools, 203; Horace Mann's Controversy 
in Mass., 204; Controversy in New York, 205; Attack upon 
the. University, 207; Circulars of Superintendent Sawyer, 
210; Opinions of Superintendent Comstock, 213; Contro- 
versy in Detroit, 214; Discussion in the Legislature, 216; 
Discussions in State Teachers' Association, 218-222. 

Richard, Father, Schools of, 2. 

Schools in the Territorial Period, Chapter I, 1-19; Statute of 1817, 
5; of 1821, 8; of 1827, 12-14; Efforts of Governor Cass, 
10; Support of Schools, 15; as to Teachers, 16; Summary 
of Conditions, 17-19. 

School System of State, 52-57; Summary of, 62-64. 

State Board of Education, Creation of, 226; Powers and Duties, 
226-230; Duties Enlarged, 253. 

State Superintendent, Powers and Duties of, 59-61 ; 223-232 ; De- 
puty, 228. 

State Public School for Dependent Children, 242-245. 

State Teachers' Association, Chapter on, 256-269; Summary of 
Work, 268; Presidents of, 269; Early Members of, 258; 
Later Members, 266; Fiftieth Anniversary Meeting, 267. 

Statistics, Tables of. Relating to Children, 247; to Teachers, 248; 
to Financial Conditions, 248. 

Taxation for Support of Schools, Debate on, in Convention of 
1850, 28; See Chapter IX 

Teachers, Provisions as to, in Territorial Laws, 16; Institutes, 135; 
Wages of, 50; Preparation of, 128; Classes for in Union 
Schools, 143 ; Courses for, in Colleges, 147. 

Text-books, Chapter on, 164-175; Early. 164; Proposed Uniformity, 
165; List Prepared by State Superintendent, 166; Discussion 
on, by Superintendent Tarbell, 168 ; by Superintendent Gass, 
170; on Hi'giene, 171; Free in Saginaw, 172; General La\v 
as to Free, 172; Present Conditions Summarized, 174. 



INDEX 273 

Township School Officers, 55. 

University, Territorial, 5, 8; Organization of, 57-59; Branches of, 
58; Religious Question in, 207-209; Certificates to Teach- 
ers, 162; Science and Art of Teaching in, 144-146. 

Union or Graded Schools, Lnapter VI, 75-83 ; Advantages of, 77-81 ; 
First Law as to, 76; Circulars for Information as to, 80-82. 

Wages, Amount of, Paid to Teachers, 114. 

Women, Higher Education of. Discussed by Superintendent Shear- 
man, 193; by Superintendent Mayhew, 195; Report to 
Regents on, 196; President Haven on, 196; University 
opened to Women, 197. 



n LIST OF BOOKS 

PUBLISHED BY 

G^EO. A\^AHI^ 

Publisher and Bookseller to the University of Michigan, 
Ann Arbor. 



Any book in this list will be sent, carriage free, to any address in the 
world on receipt of price named. 

ANN ARBOR COOK BOOK, THE— Compiled by the Ladies' Aid 
Society of the Congregational Church. Second Edition, Revised 
and Enlarged. 8 vo. 607 pages. Full Oil Cloth, ^1.50. 

ANATOMY.— Oui/ines 0/ Anatomy, A Guide to the Dissection of the 
Human Body. Based on a Text-Book of Anatomy. By American 
Authors, 54 pages. Leatherette, 50 cents. 

The objects of this outline are to inform the student what structure are found in 
each region and where the description of each structure is found in American Text- 
Book of Anatomy. 

BO WEN. —.4 Teachers' Course in Physical Training. By Wilbur P. 
Bowen, Director of Physical Training, Michigan State Normal Col- 
lege. A brief study of the fundamental principles of gymnastic 
training, designed for Teachers of the Public Schools. 183 pages. 
43 illustrations. Cloth, $1.00. 

BUNKER. — Cases on Guaranty and Suretyship. By Robert E. Bunker, 
of the Department of Law, University of Michigan. 8vo. 300 
pages. Buckram, ^2.00. 

CHEEVER.— ^^/^r/ Methods in Inorganic Quantitative Analysis. By 
Byron W. Cheever, A.M., M.D., late Acting Professor of Metal- 
lurgy in the University of Michigan. Revised and enlarged by Frank 
Clemes Smith, Professor of Geology, Mining and Metallurgy in the 
State School of Mines, Rapid City, S. D. Parts L and II. Third 
edition. i2mo. $1.75. 

The first part of this book, as indicated by the title, consists of Laboratory Notes 
for a Beginner's Course in Quantitative Analysis. It considers the subjects of 
Gravimetric and Volumetric Analysis, for beginners, by means of the chemical 
analysis of a set of substances, properly numbered, in each case giving the methods 
to be followed in such analysis; also the methods for calculating and preparing 
volumetric standard solutions, generally following the course offered by Professor 
Cheever to his students. It also considers the methods for the determination of the 
specific gravities of various liquids and solids. 

Although a number of the analyses contained in Part I. may be of only approxi- 
mate accuracy, and of small commercial value, such are yet included with a special 
purpose, to wit :— that they may supply the student with a wider range of work and a 
greater diversity of chemical manipulation. This was Professor Cheever's idea, 
and it is certainly a good one, especially since, in most cases, the work of the begin- 
ner simply serves to emphasize the necessity of careful scrutiny of details and 
methods for practical work in the future. 

Part I. is offered, then, for the use of schools and colleges, and it is intended to 
supply a source of elementary information upon the subject of Quantitative Chemi- 
cal Analysis rarely offered in such form in works upon that subject — Preface. 

The author was for many years Professor of Metallurgy in the University of 
Michigan, and the methods here presented are those mostly offered by him to his 
students. As a beginner's book in quantitative analysis, it will be found eminently 
practical, and it can be honestly recommende'^ to the student who desires a source 
of elementary information upon this branch of applied science. The book is divided 
into two parts, the first consisting of laboratory notes for beginners. The subjects 
of gravimetric and volumetric analysis are considered by means of the chemical 
analysis of a set of substances, properly numbered, in each case giving the methods 
to be followed in such analysis, and also the methods of calculating and preparing 
volumetric standard solutions, etc. Methods for the determination of specific 
gravities of various liquids and solids are also considered. 



2 Publications of George IVa/ir, Ann Arbor. 

Part II. contains a number of select methods in inorganic quantitative analysis, 
such as the analysis of limestone, iron ores, manganese ores, steel, the analysis of 
coal, water, mineral phosphates, smelling ores, lead slags, copper, arsenic, bismuth, 
etc. A chapter on reagents concludes the viox)<i.--Pharmactxilical Era. 

CLASSEN -HARRIMAN.—^z/rt«/zV«//z/^ Analysis. By Alexender 
Classen, Director of the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry and 
Electro Chemistry in the Royal Technical School, Aachen. Author- 
ized Translation from the Fifth German Edition, with an Appendix 
on the Qualitative Analysis of Minerals, Ores, Slags, Metals, Alloys, 
Etc., Including the Rare Elements, by Norman F. Harriman, Assist- 
ant in Chemistry in the University of Michigan. 79 Illustrations. 
Handsomely bound in half leather, $4.00. 
What the London Chemical News says: " One of the features of Classen's book 
that makes it well adapted to the needs of those beginning the study of quantitative 
analysis, is the practical arrangement of the subjects treated: after a chapter on 
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Volumetric analysis is treated separately (pp. 407-459), but the methods in this 
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The translator has done his share of the work with linguistic skill born of famil- 
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precipitate), and some of the methods of that eminent expert on rock analysis, Dr. 
W F. Hillebrand, of the U. S. Geological Survey, whose 'Bulletin" is frequently 
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COOLEY. — Dynamics of Reciprocating Engines. By Mortimer E. Cooley, 
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DAVIS.— /Ya/^^ Table. By Joseph B. Davis, C. E., Professor of Geodesy 
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DeCHANCY. — Scheme for Qualitative Analysis. By Julian L. DeChancy. 
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XiOQl^.— Outlines of Case Taking as Used in the Medical Clinic of the Uni- 
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D'OOGE. — Helps to the Study of Classical Mythology ; for the Lozuer 
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Michigan State Normal College. 12 mo. 180 pages. Cloth, 45 cents. 

A bibliography based on practical experience. The author is a professor in the 
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DOW. — Outlines ami References in European History. For the use 
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DWYER. — Cases on Private International Latv. By John W. Dwyer, 

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DWYER. — Law and Procedure of United States Courts. By John W. 
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determine largely both the direction and rapidity of the advancement of mathemat- 
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Hence, when it is desired to illustrate the abstract theories of analytical mechan- 
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beyond Kepler's law. The author has endeavored to meet this need, and at the 
same time to produce a book which shall be so near the present state of the science 
as to include recent investigations and to indicate unsettled questions. 



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FARRAH-DWYER. — Cases on the Law of Husband and Wife. By 
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FORD.— 77;^ Cranial Nerves. 12 pairs. By C. L. Ford, M.D., late 
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FORD. — Classification of the Most Important Muscles of the Human 
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The objects of the outline are to inform the students what structures are found 
in each region and where the description of each structure is found in Gray's Ana- 
tomy. — Fifteenth edition, dated 1901. 

GREENE. — The Action of Materials Under Stress, or Structural Me- 
chanics. With examples and problems. By Charles E. Greene, 
A.M., M.E., Professor of Civil Engineering in the University of 
Michigan. Consulting Engineer: Octavo. Cloth, ^3.00. 

CUTHE,.— Laboratory Exercises with Primary and Storage Cells. By 
Karl E. Guthe, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Michi- 
gan. 58 pages. 17 illustrations. Cloth, 45 cents. 



Publications of George Wahr, Ami Arbor. 5 

HERDMAN-NAGLER.— ^ Laboratory Manual of Electrotherapeutics 
By William James Herdman, Ph.B., M.D., Professor of Diseases of 
the Nervous System and Electrotherapeutics, University of Michigan 
and Frank W. Nagler, B.S., Instructor in Electrotherapeutics, Uni- 
versity of Micbi£:an. Octavo. 163 pages. 55 illustrations. Cloth 
$1.50. ' 

It has been our experience that the knowledge required by the student of medi- 
cine concerning electricity and us relation to animal economy is best acqS red bv 
the laboratory method By that method of instruction each principle isTn^pressed 
upon the mind through several separate paths of the sense perception and T manual 
dexterity ,s acquired which is essential to success in the therapeutic IpplicTtlons 
c> This has been the plan adopted for teaching electrotherapeutics at the Unfver'- 
sity of Michigan. Every form of electric modality that has any distinc ive phvlfo- 
logical or therapeutical effect s studied in the laboratory as to its method! of gen- 
eration control and application to the patient. We believe this to be the fnfv 
practicable way for imparting the kind of instruction required for the practice of 
electrotherapeutics, but in our attempt to develop a naturllly progressive^and at the 
ft^ng of'slow Irowtl"'' ^°°^^^'^"^ ^°-^^ °f laboratory inst/u?tio'n we have fou^d it 
This laboratory manual is the final result of our various trials and experiences 
and while we do not claim for it either perfection in the arrangement of matter «; 
completeness in detail, we feel that the time has come for putting oTrplansTn a form 
that will permu for it a wider usefulness as well as gain for it in the intelligent c"i?ic°sm 
ot the experienced workers to the field which it seeks to cultivate.-From Pre/ac?! 
HILDNER.— Cz/a/-^?? Quartett zu Storm's Immensee. By Jonathan Hild- 
ner, University of Michigan. German Conversational Cards. Boxed 
50 cents. ' 

HILDNER-DIEKHOFF.— ^-/^/v^'^ Immensee. Edited by Jonathan 
Hildner and Tobias Diekhoff, University of Michigan. With com- 
plete Vocabulary. 112 pages. Cloth, 35 cents. 

HILDNER-DIEKHOFF.-Z^///r^^^« zu Storms Immensee. By 
Jonathan Hildner und Tobias Diekhoff, University of Michigan 
Pamphlet. 16 pages. 15 cents. 

HILDNER-DIEKHOFF.-/^r.j//«^ .//.>«r;,^/^>^,;,. with notes and 
questions. By Jonathan Hildner and Tobias Diekhoff, University of 
Michigan. 174 pages. Cloth, 60 cents. 
^(yN^lA^.— Directions for Laboratory Work in Physiology for the Use 
of Medical Classes. By W. H. Howell, Ph.D., M.D., Professor of 
Physiology and Histology. Pamphlet. 62 pages. 65 cents. 
ViXi^^'R.— Directions for Work in the Histological Laboratory. By G 
Carl Huber, M.D., Assistant Professor of Histology and Embry- 
ology, University of Michigan. Third edition, revised and enlarged 
Octavo. 204 pages. Cloth, $1.50. 
It is adapted for classes in medical schools and elsewhere where it is desired to 
Sfh^f.h^^ ?'^'? '^-'^ material already prepared for the demonstration of structure 
rather than to give instruction in the technique of the laboratory. Provision for the 
latter Is made, however, by the addition of a section of about 60 pages on the meth- 
ods for laboratory work.. This section includes methods of macerltingrhardSfing 
and fixing, decalcifying, impregnation, in ecting, embedding, ctaining. Ind methidf 
Z^Jn^^y^^^ Tt ^^T'^^ ^'°°^ preparations. The last is accompa^nieSb?^ an ex- 
cellent plate of blood e ements. The selection of methods has in the main been 
'muToloQV^^ expositions are both clear and concise. -Journal of CoZparame 

r,;..,^r/^ll^'f*u ^°°^ ^'■- Huber has given us a model manual of microscopical tech- 
nique in the laboratory study of histology. The subject matter is divided into con- 
Ind^n T^^f ?*r'' ^°°^°^^"c\"g vvith the cell and cell division (karyokinesis)"n plaSt 
nf fh. ^^;t V^' T^ gradually developing, by easy stages, the most complex tissues 
fL A . l^^ ^""i vegetable organism. Between each lesson blank pages are inter- 
nr .r.vnn ^^ "'^'^ ^^ ^^f '^"^f "* ^""^ '^'^^^"^ '^^ °bjects Seen by hi£ with a pencil 
nf oh-IT~^ °'°f excellent plan as nothing fixes the appearance and charactedstics 
camria lucTd°a?ih'.°?l^rn?" [,1^? "^^"^ than drawing them,%ither free-hand or with a 
camraa lucida (the former being preferable, as it educates the hand and eye). With 



6 Publications of George Wahr, Ann Arbor. 

each subject is given the source and origin, the best methods for obtaining and pre- 
paring it, and attention is called to the most noteworthy or characteristic points for 
examination. 

The second part of the book is devoted to methods for laboratory work: soften 
ing, hardening, decalcification, etc., of the matter in gross; embedding, sectioning, 
staining and mounting, etc. The best stains, with methods of preparing the same, 
and, in short, a general formulary for the various reagents, etc., concludes the work, 
which is intended, as stated, as an aide memoire supplementary to a course of lec- 
tures on histology. 

We congratulate Dr. Huber on the skill with which he has developed the idea, 
and the didactic methods which he has employed. Such a book cannot but prove a 
great help to both student and teacher, and it should be more widely known — St. 
Louis Medical and Surgeoyi's Journal. 

Dr. Carl Ruber's Laboratory Work in Histology is an excellent manual, and if 
the medical students of Michigan University are conscientiously put throngh it they 
must be extremely well taught. Dr. Huber puts the methods of embedding, staining, 
etc., in a clear tabular form, and gives full practical instructions in all those minute 
details which can only be given by a man who has a masterly knowledge of his sub- 
ject. The American student, according to the evidence of this textbook, has the 
work of cutting and staining done for him, and has only to mount sections aflSxed to 
coverslips. By this plan he must gain an excellent collection of slides. — British 
Medical Journal. 

JOHNSON. — Elements of the La%v of Negotiable Contracts. By E. F. 
Johnson, B.S., LL.M., formerly Professor of Law in the Department 
of Law of the University of Michigan. 8vo. 735 pages. Full law 
sheep binding, $3.75. 

Several yeais of experience as an instructor has taught the author that the best 
method of impressing a principle upon the mind of the student is to show him a prac- 
tical application of it. To remember abstract propositions, without knowing their 
application, is indeed difficult for the average student. But when the primary prin- 
ciple is once associated in his mind with particular facts illustrating its applica- 
tion, it is more easily retained and more rapidly applied to analoL-ous cases. 

It is deemed advisable that the student in the law should be required, during his 
course, to master in connection with each general branch of the law, a few well-se- 
lected cases which are illustrative of the philosophy of that subject. To lequireeach 
student to do this in the larger law schools has been found to be impracticable, ow- 
ing to a lack of a sufficient number of copies of individual cases. The only solution 
of this difficulty seems to be to pl-ace in the hands of each student a volume contain- 
ing the desired cases. In the table of cases will be found many leading cases printed 
in black type.— From Preface. 

KIRK. — Brother Toper and Other College Verse. By R. R. Kirk. 47 pages. 
Brocaded Silk, 40 cents; Ooze Leather, 60 cents. 

YLIRY^,— Religion a Rational Demand. By Rev. G. J. Kirn, M.A., Ph.D. 
230 pages. i2mo. $1.00. 
It is really a fascinating theme, particularly to thoughtful and intelligent people- 
The chapter on Materialism is alone worth the cost of the book.— Evangelical Mes. 
senger. 

LEVI-FRANCOIS. — Questions Based on Levi and Francois' Reader 
Pamphlet. 37 pages. 25 cents. 

LEVI-FRANCOIS. — A French Reader for Beginners, with Notes and 
Vocabulary. By Moritz Levi, Assistant Professor of French, Univer- 
sity of Michigan, and Victor E. Francois, Instructor in French, Uni- 
versity of Michigan. 12 mo. 261 pages. $1.00. 
This reader differs from its numerous predecessors in several respects. First, 
being aware that students and teachers in the French as well as in the German de- 
partments of high schools and colleges are becoming tired of translating over and 
over again the same old fairy tales, the editors have avoided them and selected some 
interesting and easy short stories. They have also suppressed the poetic selections 
which are never translated in the class room. Finally, they have exercised the great- 
est care in the gradation of the passages chosen and in the preparation of the vocab- 
ulary, every French word being followed not only by its primitive or ordinary mean- 
ing, but also by the different English equivalents which the text requires. After 
careful examination, we consider this reader as one of the best on the American 
market. 



Publications of George Wahr, Ann Arbor. 7 

LLOYD. — Philosophy of History. An Introdiiction to the Philosophical 
Study of Politics. By Professor Alfred H. Lloyd, University of 
Michigan. i2mo. 250 pages. Cloth, $1.00. 

Philosophy of History. — "Professor Lloyd has already outlined his conception 
of history in a volume entitled Citizenship and Salvation (1897). The present ex- 
position is at the same time more definite and more comprehensive. About a third 
of the book is devoted to a philosophic study of the data of history; and this is 
followed by an analysis of the social unit, the group, and by a systematic account of 
the formula of history as it appears to the philosopher. The last four chapters are 
essays in which such topics as "Good and Evil" and ' The Great Man" are treated 
from the historical point of view which is expounded in the main part of the vol- 
ume. In these chapters as well as in the second part of the book acute and valua- 
ble comments on different phases of historical development abound. The first p^t 
of the volume, however, discussing Time, Causation, the Individual and Nature as 
data of history [is the most] \a.\m.h\e.''''— The Philosophical Review, March, iqqo. 

"The Philosophy of History is a meritorious attempt to connect the facts of 
history with the causes which have influenced the social evolution of the human 
race. Most writers are satisfied with the visible, immediate and direct causes of 

the rise or fall of nations but Professor Lloyd wants us to go deeper 

yet [but] whatever be the mental attitude of the readers with regard 

to the positions advocated in the book all will admit that it is written with great 
keenness of perception and with a sincere desire to reconcile, so far as possible, all 
intellectual and moral differences. If the author has not succeeded in accomplish- 
ing the task [of reconciliation], it is because there are differences that can not be 
reconciled, even by benevolence and ingenuity combined." — Annals of the Ameri- 
can Academy of Political and Social Science, March, 1900. 

LYMAN-HALL-GODDARD.— .4/^^^;'^?. By Elmer A. Lyman, A.B., 
Edwin C. Goddard, Ph.B., and Arthur G. Hall, B.S., Instructor 
in Mathematics, University of Michigan. Octavo. 75 pages. Cloth, 
go cents. 

MATTHEWS. — Syllabus of Lectures on Pharmatologv and Therapeu- 
tics in the University of Michigan. Arranged Especially for the 
Use of the Classes Taking the Work in Phar??iacology and Thera- 
peutics at the University of Michigan. By S. A. Matthews, M.D., 
Assistant in Pharmacy and Therapeutics, University of Michigan. 
i2mo. 114 pages. $1.00. 

McCANDLESS. — Tabular Analysis of the Law of Real Property ^ 
following Blackstone. Arranged by L. W. McCandless. 19 charts. 
Quarto. Cloth, $1.50. 

This analysis follows Book II of Blackstone, and will prove a very valuable aid 
to students. The critic remembers that in the dim and hoary past when he was 
a student himself, he prepared an analysis of Bispam's Equity. He certainly en- 
deavored to do complete justice to that learned work and the result was a sheet 
some 1x4 (yards) in dimensions. Acting according to the advice of some intimate 
friends he hung it up, on a shade roller, but somehow, never could persuade any- 
body to read it completely through. In fact, the aforesaid critic was afraid to 
attempt it itself when the " magnum opus " was once finished and the fearful and 
wonderful document still remains filed away somewhere among his dusty papers. 
This little incident of a past career is mentioned not that we would discourage the 
reader of Mr. McCandless's work or in any way compare his learned production with 
the superficial synopsis which we had ourselves compiled. It has long been a source 
of wonder to us why real estate law has not hitherto been "chartered," for there seems 
to be no branch of jurisprudence so well adapted to such a form of presentation. 
The author's work gives a bird's eye view of real property principles and as pre- 
viously stated will prove of great value to the student, particularly around examina- 
tion time for he can tell at a glance what would otherwise force him to spend much 
valuable time in searching through Blackstone. Take it all in all, the author is to 
be heartily commended and we would like to see his work used as a text book in 
not only the University of Michigan but in all the leading law schools of the country. 
For the benefit of them who have not had the pleasure of perusing it we can state 
that it is a series of some nineteen large charts each about 2 feet by i>^, handsomely 
bound so that the entire subject may be embraced in series of sweeping glances.— 
Law Journal, N. Y. 



8 Publications of George Wahr, Ann Arbor. 

^^hXyE.^.— Chronological Outline of Koinan Literattire. Ey C. L, 
Meader, A.B., Instructor in Latin in University of Michigan, 
Chart. 25 cents. 

MICHIGAN BOOK— The U. of M. Book. A Record of Student Life 
and Student Organizations in the University of Michigan. Articles 
contributed by members of the Faculty and by prominent Alumni. 
$1.50. 

MONTGOMERY-SMITH.— Zrt'/^t^r^/^rj/ Mamial of Elementary Chem- 
istry. By Jabez Montgomery, Ph.D., Professor of Natural Science, 
• Ann Arbor High School, and Roy B. Smith, Assistant Profes- 
sor in Chemical Laboratory, Ann Arbor High School. 12 mo. 150 
pages. Cloth, $1.00. 

This Work is intended as a laboratory guide to be used in connection with a good 
text-book or course of lectures, and in its arrangement and scope it is based upon 
the practical experience of two instructors in the Ann Arbor High School. It is 
therefore restricted to snch work as may be done by the average high school pupil. 
The experiments which are directed are given more to enable the student to compre- 
hend the methods of analytical chemistry than to acquire particular proficiency in 
the work of chemical analysis. The work is characterized by minuteness of explan- 
ation, a feature which will be appreciated by the beginner. — Pharmaceutical b^ra. 

MORRIS.— C/mzVrt/ Temperature Chart. By Roger S. Morris, A. B., 
M. D., University of Michigan. Postpaid, 48 cents per quire. 
There are spaces forstools, urine, dates and days of disease besides abundant 
room for the personal data, diagnosis, treatment, termination, and for daily notes. 
Anything that assists and favors accuracy in clinical records, either in hospital or 
private practice, should be welcomed by physicians, and those who are looking for 
a chart different from those now in use are warmly advised to examine this one. 

NETTO. — The Theory of Substitutions and its Application to Algebra. 
By Dr. Eugene Netto, Professor of Mathematics in the University of 
Giessen. Revised by the author and translated with his permission, 
by F. N. Cole, Ph.D., formerly Assistant Professor of Mathematics 
in the University of Michigan, Professor of Mathematics, Columbia 
University. 8 vo. 301 pages. Cloth, $3.00. 

NOVY. — Laboratory Work in Physiological Chemistry. By Frederick G. 
Novy, Sc.D., M.D., Junior Professor of Hygiene and Physiological 
Chemistry, University of Michigan. Second edition, revised and 
enlarged. With frontispiece and 24 illustrations. Octavo. Cloth, 
$2.00. 

This book is designed for directing laboratory work of medical students, and in 
showing them how to study the physics and physiology of the digestive functions of 
the blood, the urine and other substances which the body contains normally, or 
which it speedily eliminates as effete material. The second edition has appeared 
within a very short time after the publication of the first. The first chapters deal 
with the facts, the carbohydrates and proieids. Then follow others upon the saliva, 
the gastric juice, the pancreatic secretion, the bile, blood, milk, and urine, while the 
closing chapter deals with a list of reagents. 

While the book is manifestly designed for the use of Dr. Novy's own students, we 
doubt not that other teachers will find it a valuable aid in their work. At the close 
of the volume are a number of illustrations of the various sedimentary substances 
found in the urine, taken from the work of von Jaksch. —T/ie Thtrapeutic Gazelle 

This book, although now in its second edition, is practically unknown to British 
readers. Up to the present, anyone wishing to find out how a particular analytical 
method in physiological chemistry ouglit to be carried out, had of necessity to refer 
to a German text-book. This comparatively small book — for it only covers some 
three hundred pages — gives as good a general account of ordinary laboratory methods 
as any teacher or student could desire. Although the author refers in his preface to 
help derived from the works of Salkowski, Hammarsten and others, it is but fair to 
say that the book has undoubtedly been written by one who has worked out the 
methods and knows the importance of exact practical detdixYs— Edinburgh Med 
Jour., Scotland. 



Publications of George Wahr^ Ann Arbor. 9 

Physiological chemistry is one of the most important studies of the medical curri- 
culum. The cultivation of this field has until recently been possible to but few. 
The rapid development of this department of science within a few years past has 
thrown much and needed light upon physiological processes. It is from this quarter 
and from bacteriological investigations that progress must chiefly be expected. The 
rapid growth of this branch of chemistry is attended by another result. It necessi- 
tates the frequent revision of text-books. The present edition of Dr. Novy's valu- 
able book is almost wholly re-written. It is representative of the present state of 
knowledge and is replete with information of value alike to student and practitioner. 
Few are better prepared to write such a book than Dr. Novy, who has himself done 
much original work in this field.— T/ie Medical Bulletin, Philadelphia. 

NOVY. — Laboratory Work hi Bacteriology. By Frederick G. Novy, Sc. 
D., M.D., Junior Professor of Hygiene and Physiological Chemistry, 
University of Michigan. Second edition, entirely re-written and 
enlarged. 563 pages. Octavo. $3.00. 

As a teacher of bacteriology, the author has had extensive experience, and the 
second edition of his book will be highly prized by students for its practical service 
and thoroughness. The methods of investigation described are mainly those which 
have been employed in the hygienic laboratory or the University of Michigan, and 
they have stood the test of practical demonstration and usefulness. One of the 
most interesting parts of the book is the chapter on the chemistry of bacteria, and 
the general reader cannot fail to obtain from it a clear understanding of the com- 
plex changes induced by these minute organisms. The functions of the various 
ferments are also very cleverly discussed. An enumeration of the chapter headings 
will serve to show the scope of the work : Form and Classification of Bacteria ; Size 
and Structure of Bacterial Cell; Life History of Bacteria; Environment of Bacteria; 
Chemistry of Bacteria; the Microscope; Cultivation of Bacteria; Non-Pathogenic 
Bacteria; Bouillon, Agar, Milk and Modified Media, the Incubator and Accessories; 
Relation of Bacteria to Disease— Methods of Infection and Examination; Patho- 
genic Bacteria; Yeasts, Moulds and Streptotrices ; Examination of Water, Soil and 
Air; Special Methods of Work. To the latter subject, two chapters are deroted, 
in which are very fully outlined various special methods of value to advanced 
students.— P/iarmac6uticaZ Era, N. Y. 

PATTENGILL. — Rules for the Pronunciation of Greek and Latin Proper 
Names. By A. II. Pattengill, Professor in the University of Michigan. 
Pamphlet. 5 cents. 

PUTNAM.—^ Historical Sketch of the Development of Prim aiy and Second- 
ary Public Education in Michigan. By Daniel Putnam of the State 
Normal College. 12 mo. 300 pages, ^i.oo. 

REED-GUTHE.— ^ Manual of Physical Measurements. By John O. 
Reed, Junior Professor of Physics, University of Michigan, and 
Karl E. Guthe, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Michi- 
gan. 185 pages, 89 illustrations. Octavo. ^1.50. 

REED. — College Physics. For Students in Academies and Colleges. 
Physics /. Mechanics — Sound — Light. By John O. Reed, Junior 
Professor of Physics University of Michigan. Octavo. 300 pages. 
Cloth, ^1.50. 

'ROOY>.—Lmportant English Statutes. Edited by John R. Rood, Uni- 
versity of Michigan. 8vo. 24 pages. Imitation leather, 25 cents. 

This pamphlet contains the Statute of Frauds (29 Car. II. c. 3) complete, also 
Lord Campbell's Act, the Mandamus Act of 9 Anne, and the Victorian Wills Act. 
The intention is to furnish students a copy of all those important English statutes 
which have been generally re-enacted in the American statutes and are therefore 
prominent in his courses of study. 



10 Publications of George Wahr, Ann Arbor. 

ROOD. — On Attachments, Garnishments, Judgments, and Executions. By 
John R. Rood, University of Michigan. The table of contents, 
table of cases, and text cover 183 pages. The leading and illustra- 
tive cases and notes cover 514 pages. A very full index has been 
compressed into 36 pages. Total 733 pages. The two books 
bound as one, in buckram, for one price. ^^3.00. Octavo. 

The text is not claimed to be exhaustive upon any point. To make it so would 
defeat the very purpose for which it was written «. tree is not complete without all 
its foliage, but the outline of the branches cannot be clearly seen till the leaves have 
fallen. In the present discussion, details have been similarly omitted so that the 
more important matters can be seen. Anson on Contracts may be said to cover all the 
matters treated in the elaborate works on particular contracts, such as sales, agency, 
partnership, suretyship, deeds, mortgages, etc In like manner this manual is 
intended to explain all the matters covered by the extensive treatises on jurisdiction, 
judgments, res judicata, attachment, garnishment, and executions. It is not de- 
signed to trespass on the field occupied by any of these books, but to give what 
none of them do or can— a clear outline of the whole, without that cloud of details 
and the confusing review of inconsistent decisions upon them, which the writer of a 
complete text must give. In this way, it is hoped that a comprehensive view of 
broad fundamental principles may be obtained, with a clear vision of the relations 
between each part and all the others, and of the successive steps in each pro- 
ceeding from beginning to end, 

SOLIS. — The Diagnosis of Diseases of the Cord, Location of Lesions. 
By Dr. Grasset. Translated by Jeanne C. Soils, M.D., Demon- 
strator of Nervous Diseases and Electrothereapeutics in the Uni- 
versity of Michigan. 98 pages. Cloth, 65 cents. 

STRUMPELL. — Short Guide for the Clinical Examination of Patients. 
Compiled for the Practical Students of the Clinic, by Professor Dr. 
Adolf Strlimpell, Director of the Medical Clinic in Erlangen. Trans- 
lated by permission from the third German edition, by Jos. L. Abt. 
39 pages. Cloth, 35 cents. 

SUNDERLAND. — One Upward Look Each Day. Poems of LLope and 
Faith. Selected by J. T. Sunderland. Third Edition, 16 mo. 
White Binding, 30 cents; Cloth, 40 cents; Full morocco, 75 cents. 

SUNDERLAND — Grains of Gold. Some Thoughts and a Brief Prayer 
For Each Day of the Months. Designed as Daily Helps in the 
Lligher Life. Compiled by J. T. Sunderland. White Binding, 35 
cents. 

VAUGHAN. — Contributions to Medicai Research. Dedicated to Victor 
Clarence Vaughan. By Colleagues and Former Students of the De- 
partment of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Michigan, on 
the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of his Doctorate. Large octavo size. 
640 pages and 200 illustrations. Bound in full Cloth, $5.00; Half 
Morocco, $6.00. 

WARTHIN. — Practical Pathology for Students and Physicians. A 
Manual of Laboratory and Post-Mortem Technic, Designed Espe- 
cially for the Use of Junior and Senior Students in Pathology at 
the University of Michigan. By Aldred Scott Warthin, Ph.D., M. 
D., Instructor in Pathology, University of Michigan. Octavo. 234 
pages. Cloth, $1.50. 

We have carefully examined this book, and our advice to every student and prac- 
titioner of medicine is— buy it. You will never regret having invested your money in 
it and you will acquire such a large fund of information that the study of pathology 
will become a pleasure instead of the drudgery which it so unfortunately seems to 
be in many cases. 



Publications of George Wahr, Ann Arbor. 11 

Part I. of this book, embracing some 103 pages, deals with the materials, which 
includes the proper examination and notation of the gross changes which have 
occurred in every part of the body. In fact it is a complete expos6 of what a com- 
plete and accurate autopsy should be, the observance of which is oftener followed 
in the breach than in the actuality. Part II., which includes 134 pages, deals with 
the treatment of the material. This is a very important part of the work, as it gives 
explicit directions in regard to the instruments to use, stains and staining methods, 
drawing, the preservation of specimens, hardening methods, in fact, of all those 
technical points connected with practical pathological microscopy. The examina- 
tion of fresh specimens, injections, methods fixing specimens as well as special 
staining methods are taken up. In fact, space forbids us to give the entire, which 
are most valuable in every detail.— St. Louis Medical and Surgical Journal. 

WARTHIN.— ^i B/ank Book for Atitopsy Protocols. Second Edition. 

By Aldred Scott Warthin, M.D„ Ph.D., Assistant Professor of 

Pathology in the University of Michigan. Bound in Full Canvass, 

50 cents. 

The medical student at the University of Michigan is expected to attend twenty 

autopsies during the last two years of his studies, and this book is designed to 

facilitate the keeping of a careful protocol, which he is required to make in every 

case. The book is of a convenient size and can accommodate the autopsy protocols 

of ten cases. Each autopsy is allowed ten pages, carefully ruled for the various 

organs. 

WATSON. — Tables for the Calculation of Simple or Co7npotmd Intet est 
and Discotint and the Averaging of Accounts. The Values of 
Annuities^ Leases, Interest in Estates and the Accujnulations and 
Values of Investments at Simple or Compound Interest for all Rates 
and Periods; also Tables for the Conversion of Securities atid Value 
of Stocks and Bonds. With full Explanation for Use. By James 
C. Watson, Ph.D., LI..D. Quarto. Cloth, $2.50. 

A book most valuable to bankers, brokers, trustees, guardians, judges, lawyers, 
accountants, and all concerned in the computation of interest, the division and set- 
tlement of estates, the negotiation of securities, or the borrowing and lending of 
money, is the above work of the late Professor James C. Watson, formerly Director 
of the Observatories and Professor of Astronomy at the Universities of Michigan 
and Wisconsin, and Actuary of the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company. 

It contains, in addition to the usual tables for the calculation of simple or com- 
pound interest and discount, many tables of remarkable value, not found elsewhere, 
for the averaging of accoutns, the values of annuities, leases, interests in estates, 
and the accumulations and values of investments; also tables for the conversion of 
securities, and the values of stocks and bonds. 

There are also given very full and clear explanations of the principles involved in 
financial transactions, and a great variety of miscellaneous examples are worked 
out in detail to illustrate the problems arising in interest, discount, partial payments, 
averaging of accounts, present values, annuities of different kinds, annual payments 
for a future expectation (as in life insurance), or for a sinking fund, conversion of 
securities, values of stocks and bonds, and life interests. 

This book was issued from the press under the author's careful supervision. 
Professor Watson was noted for his clear insight into problems involving computa- 
tions, and also for his wonderful ability in presenting the method of solution of such 
problems in -a plain and simple manner. The varied array of practical examples 
given in connection with his "Table " shows these facts in a remarkable manner. 
This book provides, for those least expert in calculations, the means of avoiding 
mistakes likely to occur; and for the man engrossed in the cares of business, the 
means of making for himself, with entire accuracy, the calculation which he may 
need, at the moment when it is needed. 

WOLF-FLORER. — A Guide for the study of Goethe'' s Hermann und Doro- 
thea. By Ernst Wolf, E. Saginaw High School, and Warren Wash- 
burn Florer, University of Michigan. Pamphlet. 82 pages. 30 cents. 

WRENTMORE.— /Yam Alphabets for Offiice and School. S-lected by 
C. G. Wrentmore, B.S., C.E., Instructor in Descriptive Geometry 
and Drawing, University of Michigan. Oblong. 19 plates. Half 
leather, 75 cents. 



12 Publicatio7is of George Wahr, Ann Arbor. 

WRENTMORE-GOULDING.— ^ Text-Book of Elementary Mechan- 
ical Dra7ving for Use in Office or School. By Clarence G. Wrent- 
more, B.S., C.E., and Herbert J. Goulding, B.S., M.E., Instructors 
in Descriptive Geometry and Drawing at the University of Michigan. 
Quarto. 109 pages and 165 cuts. $1.00. 

This book is intended for a beginners course in Elementary Mechanical Drawing 
for the office and school. Illustrations have not been spared, and the explanations 
have been made in a clear and concise manner for the purpose of bringing the stu- 
dent to the desired results by the shortest route consistent with the imparting of an 
accurate knowledge of the subject. 

The first chapter is devoted to Materials and Instruments; the second chapter, 
Mechanical Construction; third chapter, Penciling, Inking, Tinting; fourth chap- 
ter, Linear Perspective; fifth chapter, Teeth of Gears. 

REV. J. T. YOUNG — '' Mormonism: Its Origin^ Doctrines, and 
Dangers.'''' Pamphlet. 72 pages. 25 cents. 

This brochure of seventy pages in paper covers is a sharp attack on the Mormon 
system, showing that its beginnings were in fraud and villainy, that its doctrines 
are dehasing, and that its continuance in the United States is a political and reli- 
gious menace. If Mormonism is one-tenth as bad as this booklet represents, the 
marvel is that the viper life was not crushed out long ago.— The Standard, Chicago. 

Souvenir of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Containing 38 
photo-gravures of President James B. Angell, prominent University 
Buildings, Fraternity Houses, Churches, Views of Ann Arbor,- Etc., 
Etc. Done up in blue silk cloth binding. Price, 50 cents, postpaid. 

Physical Laboratory Note Book. — A Note Book for the Physical Lab- 
oratory. Designed to be used in connection with any Physical 
Laboratory Manual. Contains full directions for keeping a Physical 
Laboratory Note Book. 112 pages of excellent ledger writing paper, 
ruled in cross sections. Metric System, size 7x9^ inches. Bound in 
full canvass, leather corners. Price, by mail, 30 cents. Special 
prices to Schools furnished on application. 

Botanical Laboratory Note Book.— .4 N'ote Book for the Botanical Lab- 
oratory. 200 pages of best writing paper, ruled with top margins. 
Pocket on inside of front cover for drawing cards. Bound in sub- 
stantial cloth cover and leather back. Size 6xg^. Price, by mail, 
35 cents. Special prices to schools furnished on application. 

Engineering Laboratory Note Book.— ^ Note Book for the Engineering 
Laboratory, University of Michigan. Full sheep binding. Size 
5/^x8. Contains 200 pages. (With general directions. Cross sec- 
tion ruled). Price, 75 cents. 

Field Engineering Note Book, Surveying. — 200 pages. Cross section 
ruled. Full Sheep binding, 50 cents. 



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